The Whole Fam Damily
by kdip4014
Summary: Part two of the Muddy Buddy world. Arizona and Callie go to see the Torres's
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Part Two of the Muddy Buddy World. Arizona and Callie go to see the Torres's.

Disclaimer: All television shows, books, movies, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work and the characters, events, and settings thereof are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.

A/N – Me – You all asked for it, so we delivered: this here is the second installment in our family series! Yay! This story is set the March following Muddy Buddy and it takes our favorite couple to Miami to meet the Torres family. For the most part, only the sheer number of Torres' are mentioned, but there are a few select family members that we are introducing for your entertainment. And we've made Aria something of a bitch, but there is a reason, and she's not always like that.

A/N 2 – Not Me – Well you all have been on my back to get the second story in the set up so without anymore putting it off here is The Whole Fam Damnily.

* * *

The first thing Callie Torres felt when she woke up was just how sore her neck was. She and Arizona had both had the day from hell on their last shift, neither lost anyone but that's about the only thing that didn't go wrong. They had come home, danced, polished off a bottle of wine and a half bottle of tequila before going to bed and testing the limits of human flexibility.

"I'm going to die." Callie heard Arizona groan from next to her. Callie's head hurt but she was a little more seasoned at drinking, it happens when you live with Cristina Yang. "Tequila hates me."

Callie would have laughed if she had the energy; she just slid her hand over and took Arizona's. After laying there for a little bit, trying to stop the pounding in her head she slowly got out of bed. She wrapped a robe around herself before going to the kitchen, drinking three glasses of water quickly and taking some pain killers. She put some bacon on before bringing Arizona water and some pain killers.

"Drink and take these. I'm making hangover busters." She bent her head, kissing Arizona's forehead. She didn't feel all that great either but she had had worse hangovers before.

"I'm never drinking again." Arizona muttered, slowly moving the pillow off of her face and taking the pain killers.

After three bacon sandwiches each, two pots of coffee and showers the two doctors were in much better shape. They were back in bed, catching up on their reading, when Callie's phone went off.

"Hello?"

"Calliope, it's your father." Carlos Torres said from the other end of the phone.

"Hi, Daddy." Callie said, moving her head off Arizona's shoulder. "What's up?" Her father and she were back on much better terms then when she screamed you can't pray away the gay in the middle of the hospital.

"Your grandparent's 60th anniversary is in a month." Carlos reminded her. "I'm sending the private plane to pick you up. I already made sure you have that week off." He was not the kind of man who took no for an answer and Callie knew that.

"Hold on." Callie moved the phone away from her head, putting her hand over it. "Dad wants us to go to Miami for my grandparent's 60th, he already got us time off."

Arizona tilted her head, knowing she would have to meet them all sometime. "Promise you won't let them kill me?"

"We will be there, Daddy." Callie laughed, putting the phone back to her ear.

* * *

Arizona got off work – her last day before she and Callie were going to go to Miami – and walked to hers and Callie's apartment. She found a note from Callie telling her she went to the market to get some things for dinner, so she called Erin.

"Conway."

"You will always be a Robbins. And what happened to a nice hello?"

"Sorry, I'm on call, it's a habit. What's up?"

"Callie and I are leaving for Miami in the morning, to spend 6 days and 5 nights with her family for her grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary." Arizona said into her cell phone. "What if they hate me Erin? What if they try to break Callie and me apart?"

Erin shifted on her bed – she has been trying to find a dress online for a wedding she had to go to – sitting up against the pillows. "Do you think Callie would let them break you two up?" She asked her sister, noting the slight fear in her voice. "Do you think her father is plotting something?"

"No." Arizona said, changing into a shirt of Callie's and track pants. "I know it's going to be fine, I hope it's going to be fine. I don't want to see Callie cut off her family again. It hurt her to do it the first time with her father."

Erin nodded, trying to think of what she would want to hear if she were Arizona. "Go, be charming and perky and they will fall in love with you. Us Robbins woman have a charm that no one can resist." She giggled a little. "Except Cristina Yang."

Arizona laughed deeply as she remembered how Erin and Cristina got on when Erin was in getting her knee fixed. "She's not so bad, she's going to be head of Cardio one day. I am a little scared for her residents though."

"Oh, have you heard about the Harper Avery yet?"

"No, it doesn't get awarded until May, it's only March."

"Shit, I just got a 911 from the hospital. Got to go."

Arizona hung the phone up and let out a long breath. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of Callie maybe getting the Harper Avery. She was awesome and amazing and stunningly beautiful in more ways than Arizona could count. Her parents were just starting to get how good Callie was, her mind drifted back to when they found out about her research.

_Callie sat with her parents, who had come 3,000 miles after seeing the American Medical Journal with an article on Callie's cartilage research. Callie and Arizona on one couch and the Torres on the other. _

_"I really didn't mean to keep it from you both." Callie said, holding Arizona's hand to keep herself from shrinking back in the couch. _

_The Torres's looked at their daughter a moment. "So this cartilage research is important?" __Andromeda Torres asked. She and Callie shared most of their physical characteristics, from their brown eyes and cheek bones to their height and body shape. _

_"It's a huge breakthrough in the field." Arizona answered for Callie. "Calliope's research could lead to being about to repair the bone in ways thought impossible a few months ago." She couldn't help but gush over what Callie was doing._

_"Do you need more funding?" Carlos asked his daughter. _

_"Daddy." Callie said, trying not to roll her eyes. "No, we have a government grant that is taking care of it right now. It's in the testing phase right now." She tried to explain things as best as she could, most of it very boring._

Arizona was brought out of her thoughts when Callie came through the door with a bag in her hand. "I went out and got some stuff so I could make dinner." She said, giving Arizona a kiss before going to the kitchen to get to work.

Arizona walked over and took a seat, loving to watch Callie cook for her. "Can all of your family cook?" She asked, resting her chin on her hand.

"I can, Mom can, Abuela can but Aria is worse than you in the kitchen."

Arizona tried to frown but ended up laughing. "You have great knife skills." She watched Callie chop some mushrooms up.

"I have other skills you like more." Callie said in a slightly lower voice, smirking a little more.

* * *

"You have your own plane?" Arizona asked as they boarded the Gulfstream V. It was the first time she had been on a private plane, she was a little amazed at how nice it was.

"Dad bought me it for my 21st birthday." Callie blushed, watching the two pilots shut the door and go to the front of the plane. "I haven't used it much but it's nice to have. Saves on vacation costs."

After takeoff Callie pulled Arizona toward the back of the plane and into a small bedroom. "Are you a member of the mile high club?" She asked as innocently as someone could ask that question.

Arizona laughed deeply as she shook her head. "I am not, can I assume that you are?" She watched Callie strip out of her top.

"I'm not a member with you." A moment later Arizona found herself being pinned by the breathtakingly stunning Dr. Torres.

Callie had a smug smirk on her face as she lay next to a panting Arizona. She knew how to make good time of their five and a half hour flight. She had made sure that Arizona knew just how much she appreciated her coming with her to Miami.

"If you are like this every time we fly we are doing this more often." Arizona panted, her chest heaving a little as she turned to tangle her body with Callie's. Both women were a little sweaty, their time this morning on hair and makeup out the window.

Callie stroked Arizona's neck with just the tips of her fingers, tracing down her neck and to the gift she gave her for their first Valentine's Day together. "What did I do to deserve you?" She thought out loud.

Arizona smiled, moving her hand to take Callie's and rests their hands between them. "Well you make limbs out of nothing, like God." She teased her a little, loving the blush that always came to her cheeks. "And you fought for us when I called you a newborn. You wonder how you could deserve me? I wonder the same thing when I wake up next to you every morning." Callie leaned forward and kissed Arizona, taking their breath away.

* * *

Arizona's stomach was in knots as they pulled up to Torres Manor. The large house was right on the water, having a view to die for. The gardens around the house were lush with colorful flowers, workers making sure it was picture perfect at all times.

"Relax." Callie whispered, both women had spent at least an hour getting ready before they landed. Callie was in her trademark jeans and leather jacket, Arizona in jeans as well and a light purple top. "They don't bite anymore than I do." Arizona blushed as they walked up to the door, scared of what was on the other side of it.

Callie opened the door as the driver got their bags for them. "Mamá, Papá? Abuela? Abuelo? Aria? Arizona y yo estamos aquí." Callie called as they walked inside.

A tall young woman who looked more like Carlos than Callie or Andromeda walked out. She was in a tank top and shorts, her brown hair was tied back, her skin tan from hours in the sun. "Hey, Calliope." She said, her voice tipped with something Arizona couldn't put her finger on.

"Hello, Ariadne." Callie hated when her sister used her full name so she did it back. Aria had the ability to make her feel like she was 17 again in a way not even her father had. "Aria this is Arizona, my girlfriend."

Aria walked over, looking the doctor up and down. "I guess Callie has a thing for blue eyes and blonde hair." She laughed, smirking at her sister a moment. "It's nice to meet you Arizona. I have heard a lot about you."

Arizona's smile faltered, the look in Aria's eyes tossing her off a little. "Really? I have heard a lot about you too."

Callie took Arizona's hand, squeezing it softly. "Are Mama and Papa home?"

"Kitchen." Aria grabbed her keys on her way out. "I have a date, don't wait up."

* * *

"What did she mean by the 'blue eyes and blonde hair' thing?" Arizona halts their progress towards the kitchen to ask the question.

"I've dated my fair share of blue-eyed, blondes, well before you and Erica. Listen… Aria, she likes to manipulate people. I guarantee you she will try everything under the sun to you. She'll take bits of stories, half-truths and spin them around to mess with your head. I swear she's border-line sociopath. Anything she says to you this week and I'm not there, just take it in stride. Make her think that you know the full story, even if you don't. And I promise, no holds barred, I will answer any question you have to ask when we're alone. Okay?"

"Calliope, I grew up with the Marines. Your 25-year-old sister doesn't scare me." Arizona matches Callie's broad grin before leaning in to kiss her reassuringly. "Now," Arizona wipes a smudge of lip gloss away before leaning back. "Let's get going before I really start to freak out."

Callie takes her hand, remembering how that little contact helped her nerves when she met the Robbins family last summer, and leads her through the house toward the kitchen. Arizona stares in amazement at her surroundings. She'd been to her share of afternoon teas and garden parties at fairly lavish homes when she was living with her parents, but the Torres Manor was in a whole different league, and she was more than a little intimidated. She's pulled out of her musings by the question posed by a child's voice.

"Wanna have a listen?" She looks up in time to see Callie's eyes light up absolute wonder and joy at the young, dark-haired child sitting on the counter, holding the ear buds of a stethoscope out to her girlfriend.

"Why, yes, I would, Ms Sophia." Callie takes the buds, putting them in while the child slips the opposite end under the collar of her shirt over her heart. Arizona catches a glimpse of a surgical scar in the center of her chest, just over her sternum, and begins to wonder what kind of surgery the child had. Her musings are halted by the look on the older brunette's face. There is a look of absolute wonderment, as if she had just been told the secret of happiness by God himself.

For the first time, the child notices her standing just behind Callie and she takes the stethoscope away from her chest.

"Do you wanna hear, too?" Callie offers the buds over to the blonde, who readily accepts them and puts them in as Sophia returns her end to her chest. Arizona closes her eyes at the sound of a strong, steady heartbeat emanating from the child's chest. Opening her eyes, she meets a brown-eyed gaze so similar to her girlfriend's, both in color and emotion. Clearly, the sound of a strong beating heart is a new one to this child and her family. Taking in what she can of the young girl's healing scar, Arizona is able to deduce that the surgery only happened recently, probably no more than 8 weeks ago.

"I just had a coronary reanastomosis."

"Really? Wow! Big words for such a child. You know," Arizona leans in as if delivering a secret, "I could barely pronounce those words when I was a resident? So you must be _way_ smarter than me." Sophia giggles with that tone of innocence that only a child has.

"Can I listen to yours?" Sophia puts in the ear buds while Arizona slips the other end under her tank top while Callie looks on in amusement, the love for the blonde clear in her eyes. Unexpectedly, Arizona sneezes, which surprises both Callie and Sophia, the younger girl more so than the older, though she quickly recovers, demanding that Arizona sneeze again, so she can hear it again.

"Sorry, sweetie, but it really doesn't work like that." Arizona apologizes, pushing a lock of hair back behind the young girl's ear before cupping her cheek in affection.

"Awwww, nuts." The two women laugh at the disappointment on the child's face.

"Alright, Sophia – oh, hello, girls." Andromeda Torres enters the kitchen with a bottle of pills in her hands. She quickly greets her daughter with a kiss, turning to do the same to Arizona; she stops at the sight before her. Sophia has curled herself into Arizona in fear.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Arizona is unaware of Sophia's fear of taking her medication.

"No medicine." Her mumbles are barely discernable due to her face being buried in Arizona's chest. Arizona turns to Andromeda, silently requesting her to hand over the bottle. She takes a quick moment to read over the label to see what it is before turning her attention back to the young child in her arms.

"Why don't you want to take this?" Arizona's tone is soft, gentle, and soothing. So soothing that Sophia takes her face out of her shirt to explain. Her tone is so soft that Arizona has to lean in close to hear what she has to say.

"I had to take a whole bunch before my surgery, and it didn't help, and because of that, the doctors had to cut me open, and that hurt."

"Hmm, well, do you know what this is?" Arizona pulls the bottle out from behind the child. "If you don't take these pills, then you'll just need another surgery. I'm not trying to scare you, sweetie, but these pills? These are the good ones. They keep you from needing more surgery, and you won't have to take them forever, just a few more weeks. So, will you take them for me? Please?" Arizona gives the young girl her best pleading puppy dog face, prompting a soft giggle from Sophia, who nods in acceptance, taking the pills from Arizona.

Meanwhile, off to the side, Callie and her mother are watching in amusement.

"So when are you two going to have one of your own?"

"Really, mama?" Callie looks over in surprise. "I expected that from dad, but not from you – not so soon."

"Well, look at her." She motions toward the sight of Arizona leaning in, comforting the child. "She's a natural. She'll be a wonderful mother."

"I know." Andromeda is quick to pick up the wistful tone to her daughter's voice.

"But…?" The older woman prompts.

"She's never wanted kids. She's agreed to discuss it again one day, so the prospect of kids is firmly in the 'maybe' column at the moment."

"Okay." She drops the subject.

"Okay? That's it?"

"If the two of you decide that there won't be any children, that's fine by me. It's what's right for you. Look at your Uncle Roberto, or Uncle Juan, or your Aunt Julia. None of them had children, and they're perfectly happy. I know that you do want kids, so I hope that Arizona reconsiders and decides to have one, but it's not the end of the world if you don't.

"And if you decide not to have any… well, you just leave your father to me." Andromeda ends the conversation by moving to switch places with Arizona, hugging the young child.

"Oh, you two are in your old room, Calliope. The driver should have brought your things up already if you two would like to clean up before dinner."

"Thank you, Mama."

"Thank you, Mrs. – Mama." Arizona corrects herself at the look she's receiving from the elder Torres. That was something the older woman was quick to remedy the first time Arizona called her Mrs. Torres. After a quick line about her mother-in-law not being present, she corrected the blonde and said she could either call her Andromeda or Mama, like everyone else.

Callie laughs at her stumble before dragging the blonde out the kitchen and up toward their room, their room that was fortunately nowhere near Aria's or Callie's parent's room.

* * *

"So, what were you and your mother discussing so intently?" Arizona unzips her bags, pulling out the dresses she brought with her and hanging them up in the closet before retrieving her toiletries.

"She was asking when we'd be having kids of our own."

"Oh, hmm, right. Okay." She's gotten better, though she's still nervous whenever someone brings up kids. Callie is quick to reassure her.

"Hey, I told you once, I'll tell you again. You, Arizona Elizabeth Robbins, are all I need or want in my life. Now if you decide that you do want kids that is just icing. Okay?"

"I know, and I love you for it." Callie follows Arizona into the bathroom with her own items and claims one of the two sinks as her own.

"Who was that child?" Arizona asks after they've washed up and retouched their make-up and are choosing fresh clothes for dinner – not that they were really wearing their clothes on the plane, but the family doesn't need to know that.

"One of my cousin's kids."

"You never told me how many cousins you have. Why is that?" Callie stops undressing to answer the question.

"Do you remember, when you were telling me about your family? It took you about 20 minutes to run through your parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins."

"Yes."

"My dad is one of nine kids. Three of them didn't have kids, and between the remaining five, I have 19 cousins, 10 of them have a total of 27 kids of their own, and one more is pregnant with twins. And that's just my dad's side. Sophia's dad is a cousin on my mom's side. That side: My mom is one of seven kids, the other six kids, have anywhere from 4 to 7 kids each. I've got 27 cousins on my mother's side, the youngest is 29, and she's got three kids of her own, and doesn't appear to be stopping. The oldest is 42, and he's got 7 kids. I've lost track of the number of second cousins I have on my mother's side, they add to the total so often.

"But that's what we do, we're Greek, we do big families."

"And they're likely to disown you all over again if you don't have any."

"Are you planning on leaving me if they do? Because I don't care. I know I can live without the money; I don't want to live without you. I can live without kids, as long as I have you."

"Well, now that I know I'd be giving up the private plane, I just might have to keep you." Arizona teases the younger woman, who is quick to retaliate, grabbing the blonde and pinning her to the bed.

"The plane? That's what you love?"

"Well, there's also the woman that owns the plane. I love her, too."

"Hmmm, good to know." Their kiss is interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by Sophia's voice telling them to come down for dinner. Callie breaks away with a quick kiss. "To be continued tonight."


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: Part Two of the Muddy Buddy World. Arizona and Callie go to see the Torres's.

Disclaimer: All television shows, books, movies, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work and the characters, events, and settings thereof are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.

AN - ME: Okay, so this isn't _technically_ a CSI: Miami, crossover, but I was watching the show when I was writing my part, and therefore, Callie's childhood best friend is Jesse. It's not mentioned by name, but my favorite surf shop is the fantastically awesome Ron Jon's, in Cocoa Beach, FL, but despite them opening up several stores throughout the state of Florida, there isn't one in Miami, but the surf shop our girls visit is meant to model after Ron Jon's, slightly.

And the reunion thing? You think it doesn't happen, but it does. My class president tried to hold a reunion at five years, but like 8 people responded back that they would attend, so the celebration was put off for another five years.

* * *

Callie was a little nervous as she and Arizona walked into the formal dining room. They didn't dine in here nightly, only when they had more than 10 people or for holidays. She was very glad it was just her Aunt Julia, Uncle Roberto, Sophia, her parents, Arizona and her tonight. This group would behave.

"Calliope." Roberto stood up, walking over to his niece and giving her a hug. He was one of the few that was a little more touchy feely like the Robbins clan. "You look lovely." He looked like his older brother, his hair a little less gray though.

"I'm good, Uncle Roberto." Callie grinned at her favorite uncle. "Arizona this is my uncle Roberto, Uncle Roberto this is Arizona Robbins."

Roberto smiled at Arizona. "Calliope you have wonderful taste and it is a pleasure Arizona. My niece has told me a lot about you." He flashed a rather charming grin at the two women before lowering his voice. "William and I are planning to have lunch at the hotel at about one tomorrow, will you join us?"

Callie shared a look with Arizona to make sure she didn't have a problem with it. "We'd love to." She said softly before the three of them walked over to the table. Roberto pulled out their chairs for them before sitting down.

"How are you, Callie?" Julia asked as she looked over Arizona. "We haven't seen each other in over a year thanks to my brother." She shot him a glance but quickly looked back at the younger woman.

"I'm good Aunt Julia." She always liked her aunt but she could be a little much in large doses. "Arizona this is my Aunt Julia, the best lawyer this side of the Mississippi."

"It's very nice to meet you." Arizona smiled, her dimples coming out.

Julia looked Arizona over again before she answered. "Calliope gave up a lot for you, you must be something." She nodded before turning back to talk to her sister-in-law.

Sophia walked into the room; she always liked to watch the cooks as they got the food on the plates. "Hi." She grinned as she sat on the other side of Arizona. "They made duck." She bounced in her chair a little. "My favorite."

Arizona watched as their food was brought out to them by three men, she was impressed that they had a cook and servants to bring their food into them. She took Callie's hand under the table and smiled at her when Callie put their hands on top of the table for all to see.

"Can you pass the salt, Papa?" Callie asked when she saw him look at their hands. She wasn't going to back down anymore. She and Arizona were adults in a loving and committed relationship. They were doing nothing wrong by holding hands at the table.

"Of course." Carlos said, picking up the salt and looking into Callie's eyes, smiling for just a second before bowing his head and leading the family in saying grace.

Arizona watched as the conversations happened in English and Spanish at the same time. A sentence would start in one and change to the other half way though, no one but her seeming to notice. She had worked on her Spanish but she was nowhere near as good as to figure out what was being said. She would have to ask Callie for help later.

* * *

"That was better than it could have gone." Callie smiled brightly as she shut and locked her bedroom door. She didn't want her sister to come in here in the middle of the night or a relative busting in on them without thinking. "They were nice to you."

Arizona blushed as she walked into the bathroom and took her jewelry off, except her pendent. "Your aunt kept looking at me during dinner like I was going to jump you right there." She turned the shower on, needing a bit of relaxation before bed.

Callie walked into the bathroom, her dress had been removed to show a black bra and panties. "She is a bit abrasive but she was like that to the guys I dated and brought home, too. She's protective of me." She grabbed a cloth and started to remove her make up before seeing Arizona watching her in the mirror. "What?"

Arizona didn't answer her for a moment, walking over and wrapping her arms around Callie's waist and kissing her shoulder. "You are beautiful." She whispered, feeling like she was 16 again. "And you are mine."

Callie finished taking her makeup off before turning in Arizona's arms, kissing her chastely. "I am yours and this trip won't change that." She knew Arizona was scared and wanted to take that away. She would give up everything again, cut her family off and give back her trust fund again if it meant being with Arizona. "I love you."

Arizona broke out the dimples, moving her arms around Callie's neck so she could pull her into a not so innocent kiss. "Would you like to join me in the shower?" She asked in a low voice.

Callie couldn't hold the innocent act anymore as she watched Arizona strip and get into the glass shower. The way the water hit her sent chills down her spine. Stripping as she walked to the shower she got in and smirked a little. "I know from personal experience that the walls can support a person lifted against them." She knew how to push the possessive button and a possessive Arizona was a sexy Arizona in Callie's book.

"Do you bring all your lovers to the shower?" Arizona pushed Callie against the shower in one smooth motion. She didn't give Callie time to answer before her lips were pressing into the Latina's.

An hour or so later Callie got into bed after she had finished putting lotion on her legs, snuggling to Arizona's warm form. She laughed softly, her head going to rest on her girlfriend's shoulder.

"What's so funny?" Arizona raised an eyebrow while her arm went around Callie's waist. She always soaked in the moments where they were in bed and happy.

"Your parents are fine with you being gay and we had to sleep in two different beds, my parents are less so and yet we get to share a bed here. Just funny to me." Callie turned and looked up at Arizona, kissing her jaw.

Arizona laughed, nodding. "Yeah I hadn't thought of it." She remembered what happened at dinner and shifted so she was looking at Callie. "Can you help me with my Spanish? Dinner showed me just how underprepared I was."

Callie smiled as she took Arizona's hand, interlacing their fingers and resting them on her hip. She knew that they changed back and forth a lot; they had always done that, so she tried to help Arizona learn how to understand that.

Arizona tried very hard to learn from Callie, tried to learn as quickly as she could so she could take part in what was going on around her. "Thanks." She said an hour later, now her head really hurt from trying to remember everything.

Callie kissed her as she leaned over and hit the light off. "Anytime. It's really sexy when you speak Spanish and I know you like it when I do."

Arizona blushed but the dimples showed themselves. "Yeah I do." She said shyly, turning on her side so Callie could spoon her. "I love you, goodnight."

"I love you, goodnight." Callie whispered back.

* * *

Arizona woke up before Callie the next morning and needed coffee. She put on a pair of running pants over her shorts, tied her hair back in a pony tail and walked to the kitchen. Aria was sitting at the table, coffee in hand. She looked like she had a rough night.

"You're a doctor right?" Aria asked as she stood up and walked over to where Arizona was. "So if you treat me for something you have to keep it from everyone?" Unlike yesterday there was nothing in her eyes, it was like she was on auto pilot.

Arizona remembered what Callie said but also knew that if something was wrong and Aria needed medical care she should help her. "If I treat you for something I can't tell anyone." She nodded, taking a sip of her coffee.

Aria looked around before pulling Arizona into the pantry. "Is this something I need to have looked at?" She lifted her shirt up and showed her a large bruise the size of a foot on her ribs. "I think I broke a few ribs."

Arizona slowly reached out and touched the spot gingerly before nodding. "I would say you're right." She whispered, having seen marks like these on people before and knowing what they mean. "Who did this to you Aria?" She asked as she moved her hands over the mark to check it.

"Do I need to go to a hospital?" Aria didn't answer her question, pulling her shirt back down.

"They will heal themselves." Arizona watched Aria walk out as soon a she told her that.

* * *

Callie and Arizona walked into the lobby of the 5 star hotel the Torres family owned. It was one of the most beautiful buildings Arizona had ever seen. "Wow." She muttered, tugging of her simple blue top. "I feel underdressed."

Callie was in jeans, a simple white and purple shirt and her trademark leather jacket. "Don't worry, you look great." Callie smiled brightly as they walked toward the 4 star restaurant that the hotel had within it.

Roberto and William were both there, sitting at a table together. Roberto in a black suit and William, who was a tall, thin man with salt and pepper hair, was in blue. Callie pulled Arizona over to the two men, grinning.

"Hello Uncle Roberto, William." She hugged both men when they stood, kissing their cheeks. "William this is my girlfriend Arizona Robbins, Arizona this is William Dunmore. He's Uncle Roberto's roommate." She teased the two men. Her parents always told her when she was younger that her uncle had roommates and to this day that's what she called his boyfriends.

Arizona smiled at the two men. "It's nice to meet you, William, nice to see you again, Roberto." The foursome sat down just before a bottle of wine was brought over.

"I hope you two don't mind, we like to drink during lunch." William chuckled softly.

"If you two worked here you would understand." Roberto said, pouring them each a glass of wine.

"Maybe that's what we need to do, drink during lunch at work." Callie said, taking Arizona's hand and her wine. "Though you work with kids so I don't know if coming into a room with wine on your breath would make the parents happy."

"I have a feeling you're right." Arizona laughed, taking a sip of the very good wine. "What is this, it is fantastic."

"It's about 75 years old." Roberto told Arizona. "$500 a bottle but it's worth it isn't it?"

Arizona nearly choked to death on her wine when she heard how much a bottle cost. She couldn't help but think back to the date that almost killed her relationship with Callie. She looked over and saw that Callie was thinking the same thing.

"What are you two ladies doing today?" William asked after they had ordered their lunches. "Shopping?"

"I thought I'd take Arizona around and show her the sights. Maybe do a little surfing later if the waves are good." Callie stroked the knuckles on her girlfriend's hand, watching her uncle do the same thing.

"Did you bring our boards?" Arizona asked Callie, remembering the one she got when they went to see her family last year. "I didn't see them on the plane."

"They are at the house." Callie nodded. "They couldn't fit in the car so they made their own trip."

"So tell me Calliope." Roberto leaned forward a little. "How does it feel to be the only fully out Torres?" He chuckled softly.

"Awesome." Callie's mouth twitched a little as she used one of Arizona's trade mark words. "I am glad everyone found out even if it happened how it did."

"When you see Mama and Papa that is going to be the real test." Roberto said, looking over at William. "If they don't kill you I might finally tell them William isn't just my fraternity brother."

"They understand being in love." Callie said softly, smiling. "And really that's all they need to."

* * *

"So, your grandparents don't know? About us?" Arizona elaborates an hour later as they're exiting the hotel. Handing the ticket for the car to the valet, Callie turns to her to answer.

"They know I'm dating someone, someone who I love and who makes me very happy. But no, they don't know that I'm dating a woman. I am a little afraid to tell them, not because of how upset I think they'll be, but because… they're 82 and 83, very old-school Catholics, and they aren't in the best of health. I'm afraid to tell them because I'm afraid the news will give one – if not both – of them a heart attack."

"Okay." Arizona's simple acceptance throws Callie for a loop, and her shock shows as the valet drives up with their car, leaving the door open for Callie, while another moves around to open the passenger door for Arizona. "Are you coming, Calliope?"

"Right, yeah." Callie quickly tips the young man before getting in behind the wheel and driving off.

"You're really okay with it?" Callie questions, driving toward town.

"Yes, I can understand that. Do you think they'll be upset?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe shocked, more so than angry or upset. Shocked because they knew that I was married to a man – then again, they didn't disown me when they heard I got divorced, but then again, they could think this is a phase, to get over the fact that I had my heart broken by my husband. I don't know." She stops talking for a moment to change lanes, pulling into a parking lot in the middle of a strip of stores, bars and restaurants. "I was thinking of maybe going to see them one day this week and explaining it, give them a heads up or something."

"So they can have their heart attack in their own home, rather than at their anniversary party?"

"Mean." Still Callie returns a smile to Arizona's teasing comment.

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Good, so…" They exit the car, and Callie waves her arm to display the street they're on. "It's a little touristy, but the surf shop I used in high school is on this street, and there are a few good spots."

"Well then, lead on Calliope." Arizona grabs her hand, weaving their fingers together before following Callie down the street.

Occasionally, Callie would point out a store, or bar, start a story, but usually stop after getting out: 'One time in high school…' while turning beet red.

"So, here's my favorite surf/water sports shop. Well, second favorite, but my favorite doesn't have a location here in Miami. We do need to stop here though, I need a new rash guard, my old one is starting to break up a little." Callie opens the door, following the blonde in, nearly running into her when she stops short at the sight before her.

"Whoa." Arizona stares in wonder at the sight inside the store. There are racks upon racks of every size, color and brand and style of wetsuit, board shorts and bathing suits that you could dream of on the floor. And hanging from the balcony dividing the two floors are hundreds of different types of boards: long boards, short boards, boogie boards, you name it, this store has it. Hanging from the ceiling are more boards, as well as tons of kayaks. Basically, this place is a water enthusiast's wet dream. "I think I could entertain myself in here while you search for a new top."

"Good to know. I loved this place in high school. My father hated that I wanted to work here. It's not like I needed the money, or the discount, it was just the atmosphere. I loved being here, and getting to work here, well, that was just the cherry on top." Arizona follows Callie over to the women's section, still taking the sights of the store in, in wonder. Until they get to the first rack, and she spots several items she likes, searching out her size to try on, ignoring Callie's chuckles at her enthusiasm.

An hour later, not only has Callie chosen two new rash guards, but three new suits, and a pair of board shorts. Arizona is in the dressing room trying on her 50th suit, when Callie feels a pair of arms encircling her from behind, lifting her off the ground in enthusiasm. Callie drops her items in shock, a squeal emanating from her mouth. After being lowered, she turns, fully intending to slug the person that dared surprise her, instead, a new squeal of surprised joy escapes her as she throws her arms around the person's neck, allowing him to lift her off the ground once more.

"Hey, Cal, long time no see." The man's tone is easy going, though there's a look of slight pain on his face at the decibel level of Callie's shrieks. He bends over to retrieve the items Callie dropped, handing them to her as he stands up.

"Jesse! What are you doing here? I thought you were in LA!" Callie accepts her items with one hand, keeping the other firmly attached to the man's arm.

"I was, I returned back here last fall. I ran into your dad last weekend, he said you'd be out here this week for the anniversary party. I figured it wouldn't be long before you made a trip here. And I needed a new suit." Jesse holds up said item. "I lucked out; I was planning on returning every day until I saw you."

"Well, it's great to see you. Are you still with the crime lab? That is what the alumnus newsletter said, right?"

"I don't know if that's what the newsletter said, but that is where I am. But enough about me… your father mentioned something about you bringing someone with you." Jesse grins cheekily at Callie. "Is there a new gentleman suitor in Callie Torres's life?"

"Nope." Callie's face doesn't give anything away, which seems to shock Jesse.

"Really? I've never known your father to lie. Why would he say that you've got a new man in your life if you don't?"

"Did my father say that I've got a new man in my life? Those words, exactly?"

"Uh, no, he said you've got someone new in your life. But I've known you since we were two, Callie, who else would it be if not a man?" Before Callie can answer, a blue-eyed, blonde bundle bounces up to her with several hangers containing two pairs of board shorts, three rash guards, four new bathing suits, and two suit cover ups. Leaving several hundred – only a minor exaggeration – hangers behind.

"Okay, I do believe I'm set. Hi!" Arizona greets a shocked looking Jesse, taking in the familiar way he's holding her girlfriend, with only the slightest twinge of jealousy. Clearly he's not accustomed to her level of perkiness. Callie chuckles softly at the anticipated reaction she's about to get from her best friend, while Arizona looks between the two in confusion.

"Arizona, this is Jesse Cardoza, he and I have been the best of friends for years, we grew up together. Jesse, this is Arizona Robbins, my girlfriend." Callie looks up to her best friend to wait for his reaction… he looks confused.

"Ummm… what?"

"Jesse, this is Arizona-,"

"I got that part; it's the other part I'm not getting."

"The girlfriend part?"

"Yeah."

"She's my girlfriend, in the whole biblical, I like women way."

"Really? So, is that why you turned me down all those years ago?" Callie laughs, knowing that Jesse making jokes is a good thing.

"No, I turned you down all those years ago because you were like the brother I never wanted. Plus my dad and your mother wanted us together so badly it kind of turned me off to you in the romantic sense. And you were my best friend. It never would have lasted."

"I got you." Jesse maneuvers himself around Arizona's items to give her a hug, having to stoop down a good foot to do so. "It's nice to meet you Arizona."

Despite being from a very affectionate family, Arizona is shocked at the affection from Jesse, though she quickly recovers, returning the hug and dropping a few of her items in the process, which Jesse is quick to retrieve for her.

"Nice to meet you too, Jesse." She accepts the items he retrieved for her before heading off to the register, Callie and Jesse following behind her.

"Hey, did you get the invitation to the reunion this summer?" Arizona perks up at Jesse's question.

"Yes. And no, I'm not sure if I'll be able to attend."

"Why not? You haven't attended the last two."

"Because our class president was a freak, who insists on holding reunions every five years. What's the point? Five years is pointless, because chances are everyone is either still in school, or has the same personality that they did in high school – and I didn't attend because I was in Botswana. Ten years is pointless, because it's too early, everyone will be trying to make themselves out to be far more important and wealthy than they actually are – and I was in the middle of my residency at the time."

"Yes, well, we all weren't as freakishly over-achieving as you were, so most of us were able to be around for those. Though I heard only about 80 people RSVP'd for the 5-year reunion. So what's your excuse for not attending the 15 year reunion?"

"It's in August, right?"

"Yeah, the weekend of the 13th, why?"

"Boulder." The two women answer simultaneously.

"Sorry, Jesse, but if given the choice of attending my 15 year high school reunion or joining the Robbins in Boulder, I'm choosing Boulder."

"What's so exciting about Boulder in the summer time?"

"Only the most awesome endurance race ever! Sorry Jesse," Callie's tone goes back to normal after the first sentence. "But I'm choosing the Muddy Buddy over the reunion. I'll try and make it to the 20 year one."

"Won't you two have a houseful of kids by then?" Before Callie can give an evasive answer, Arizona jumps in.

"Possibly. But we've also got a surgical floor full of friends that would be willing to watch over them for us."

Jesse doesn't miss the glance or the soft smiles that the two women share over the blonde's comment.

"I'm going to hold you to that, Arizona, to bring her to the next reunion."

"I do solemnly swear to make sure that we do not choose a race date that interferes with the reunion."

"Pinky promise?" Jesse holds up said digit for a shake, that Arizona is happy to oblige.

"I have to say, Jesse, it's odd to see a grown man make a pinky promise. I at least have an excuse for accepting," Arizona is quick to respond. "I work with kids all day; they're forever making you pinky promise."

"Teacher?" Jesse questions her profession.

"Pediatric surgeon."

"You will have very smart children." Jesse predicts, only half joking. Just as he finishes paying, his pager goes off. "Eh, I gotta go, results I've been waiting for just came in." He leans down to give each woman a kiss on the cheek before grabbing his bag. "It was good to see you again, Cal, and nice to meet you, Arizona. If I don't see you again this week, I just might see you on Friday at the party."

"Can't wait." Callie waves him off.

"Is he a doctor, also?" Arizona questions Callie.

"Detective, crime scene investigator." Arizona is so distracted, she doesn't realize that Callie is having the attendant ring up their items together.

"And how long were you two together?"

"We weren't. Like I said, he was my best friend. He was like my Mark, just without the sex."

"No sex? At all?" Arizona arches her eyebrow and stares Callie down, making the younger woman regret ever teaching the blonde her signature stare down. Callie pauses to pay for their purchases, which is enough to let Arizona know that there was a thing between them.

Callie, having learned the hard way what keeping things from Arizona does to their relationship, waits until they are outside, away from prying ears before answering.

"Junior year, Spring Break. We went to Cocoa Beach. There was a drunken night. I honestly don't remember any of it – at least the sex part – and when we woke up… well, it was awkward, and weird, for the longest time afterwards. Eventually we realized that neither of us wanted to lose the friendship, so we vowed never to speak of it again, unless we were detailing our sexual history to a significant other."

"You didn't mention it last summer?"

"How many people have you told about your first? Jesse is not something I talk about, not to family of significant others. If you want to tell them, I don't have a problem with it, but it's not something I talk about."

"Okay." Arizona accepts, thankful that Callie opened up to her about him.

It's only when Arizona realizes that they're putting their bags of things into the trunk when she realizes that Callie paid for her things as well as her own.

"Calliope!"

"What?"

"I had over $150 worth of stuff there. You shouldn't have paid for it." Arizona put her hand on Callie's arm. After her father took her trust fund away, after the date that almost broke them up, they decided to each pay their own way.

"Oh." Callie blushed as they got into the car. "Dad gave me my trust fund back after I agreed to come home for this." She hadn't told Arizona or anyone else about it, she didn't want her family money to cause any more drama. "I put a chunk of it away in a private account this time, which he doesn't know about." She added.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Arizona asked, taking Callie's hand in hers, wrapping their fingers around each other's.

"I didn't want to make a big deal about it." Callie muttered, looking at Arizona when she stopped at a red light. "Are you mad?"

"No." Arizona shook her head. "Just don't keep stuff from me. You know my mind, it jumps to the worst and then I get tense and we fight over whose turn it is to make the bed."

"I still think it was your turn." Callie took a left as she headed back to Torres manor. "Do you play beach volleyball?" She asked Arizona as she drove.

"Do I play?" Arizona grinned, her dimples coming out in full force. "I was a three time setting champ in the summer league when I was 15, 16 and 17."

After the girls got back to the house they unloaded the car and brought their stuff to their room to put away and get ready to go to the beach. Callie picked out her new blue bikini and Arizona her new purple one. They put on tank tops, shorts and flip flops before walking downstairs.

* * *

"I didn't tell anyone about it." Aria's voice was coming from her bedroom.

"I swear to God if you did I will make you wish you weren't born." A deep male voice came from the same room. "If you weren't such a little tease I wouldn't have had to teach you a lesson." Callie and Arizona stopped in their tracks at the tone of the male voice.

"I wouldn't tell anyone Jimmy, I love you." Aria's voice sounded slightly defeated and nervous. Callie could tell she was in trouble but her feet were frozen to the hardwood floor. "You know I do."

"I will see you tonight. I got to go see my kids mom to make sure she knows what will happen if she keeps trying to get money for the little bastards from me." The man opened the door, walking past Arizona and Callie like they weren't even there.

Callie saw Aria sit down on her bed, head in her hands. She walked – Arizona knowing it was best to let the two sisters be alone – into Aria's room. "¿Qué está pasando Aria?" Callie whispered, sitting next to her little sister and putting her arms around her.

"Él no hizo nada." Aria lied to her sister. "He's a good man Callie; I just couldn't keep my mouth shut. You of all people know I have a problem with that." She turned her face, Callie seeing the black eye she had hid with makeup for a week.

"I am going to kill him." Callie said the moment she saw the black eye. "No one is worth getting hit for Aria. I thought you were smart enough to know that."

"You don't get it." Aria stood up quickly and started to pace the room. "Jimmy es un buen man, he only does this cuando no puedo mantener mi boca cerrada." She moved from Spanish to English.

Callie stood and shut the door, looking at her sister. "That is the biggest sack of bull I have ever heard from you, Ariadne Torres." She crossed her arms over her chest. She loved her sister even if they were like gasoline and a match.

"Callie, just forget what you heard alright?" Aria turned to look at her older sister. She had never wanted anyone to know how she failed, how she let down Jimmy to the point he had to discipline her. "I slept with someone who I met at a bar because I was drunk, I don't even remember his name. I told Jimmy and he punished me. End of story."

"Aria I can't do that, I can't forget the tone of the voice he used with you." Callie took a few steps toward her sister, for the first time in a long time she felt like a protective big sister.

"You need to." Aria snapped at her. "Or Jimmy is just going to get mad at me for telling you anything and make it worse." She closed her eyes to keep herself from telling her sister just how bad it really was at times. "I am in love with him and I would never hurt someone I was in love with, that's the different between you and me."

Callie shook her head. "No Aria the difference between you and me is that when I wake up in the morning I know the name of the person lying next to me." She walked out of the room, grabbed Arizona's hand and pulled her toward the deck so they could hit the beach.

"Callie . . . wait . . . stop pulling me." Arizona finally got Callie to stop once they were outside. "We can't not do something to help her. She's scared and that asshole has her convinced she deserved to be hurt."

"I'm not going to get into it. Aria wants to get the shit kicked out of her then she can. I don't care anymore." Callie whispered, wishing she had something to drink so she could forget about the last 15 minutes and go back to the mood she was in when she walked out of her bedroom. "I just want to go down to the beach with my girlfriend and forget I ever tried to help her." She put on of her hands in Arizona's. "Please?"

Arizona took a breath, if it was Erin in her bedroom with a black eye and broken ribs Arizona would have locked her in there and not let her out until she agreed to press charges but she knew that her relationship with Erin and Callie and Aria's relationships were very different.

"Alright." Arizona whispered softly, knowing she needed to let Callie think and process this.

* * *

Arizona and Callie grabbed towels, an umbrella and a few beers and took them down to the private part of the beach where a volleyball court was set up.

"I haven't played in a few years, so take it easy on me." Callie said, knowing how Arizona got when any version of competition came up.

"I always take it easy on you Calliope." Arizona laughed, taking her tank top and shorts off and grabbing a bottle of sun block. "Wanna put it on my back?" She asked Callie, making sure to try to get her mood back up.

Callie walked over to Arizona and grabbed the bottle from her. She put a little in her hand and covered her girlfriend's back with it. "When I was younger Aria put it on my back once but left a patch where she spelled her name out. I had Aria on my back for two weeks."

Arizona couldn't help but giggle at the story. "I might have to try that next time Erin and I are at the beach together." She took the bottle from Callie so she could put some on her arms, legs and torso. "Want me to do you?" She asked innocently.

"I think that is a given Dr. Robbins."

Callie turned and let Arizona spend a lot more time than was needed to put sun block all over her unreachable places. Enjoying the way her lover knew just the right way to touch her skin. Her mood was broken a few moments later when the last two people she ever thought would be, walked up the beach.

Samantha Dixon and Callie were rivals for everything in high school over everything. Grades, after school activities, who they dated, what they drove. Sam was tall and thin and had no problem using her good looks, her red hair and green eyes to get men to do just what she wanted.

"Callie, so nice to see you again." Sam said, Callie couldn't tell if she meant it or not. "You remember my sister Amy."

Callie nodded; Amy and she never really were friends but never had problems with the other either. "This is Arizona Robbins, my girlfriend." She found it a lot easier to tell her once she saw Sam's eyes bug out a little.

"What do you two say to a little friendly game of volleyball?" Sam asked once she could talk again. Sam didn't do friendly anything and Callie knew that.

"What do you think Arizona?" Callie asked, giving her a look that said she better agree and bring her A game.

"I think it is a wonderful idea." Arizona smiled her dimpled grin. She caught the look on Callie's face and made a mental note to ask for the back-story later.

Callie and Arizona walked over to their side of the court and took a moment to talk while Amy and Sam talked. "We need to kill them." Callie said in a low voice she normally only had while dealing with bad residents. "Like hit Alex with a brick, take Cristina down a peg, tell off a father who is calling his son a faker beat down." Callie had a slightly sour look on her face.

"I think I can handle that." Arizona smiled her dimpled grin. Both women moved to their places on the court, letting the other team serve first.

"One game to 21, must win by 2?" Sam asked Callie who nodded. She served the ball hard at Arizona who dug it to Callie. Callie set it a little farther back than she wanted but Arizona jumped and spiked it, it landed right on the back line.

"One-nothing." Arizona said in her perky tone as she walked back to serve. Callie smirked as she looked at Arizona before shaking her head and getting ready to play the most important volleyball game of her life.

* * *

Callie and Arizona sat down after Sam and Amy left. Thanks to Arizona they won 27 to 25. "You are an amazing athlete." Callie whispered, sitting behind Arizona with her arms around her waist.

"With the family I grew up with are you surprised?" Arizona teased Callie, opening her beer and taking a very long drink. "And it was fun to beat someone that you don't like." She liked sitting this way with Callie, she felt protected.

"Do you want to hear the story of why we hate each other so much?" Callie whispered, putting her chin on Arizona's shoulder, nuzzling her neck softly. Even hot and sweaty Arizona smelled like peaches, it was her body wash and her shampoo.

"If you want to tell me." Arizona whispered, closing her eyes at the feeling of Callie's lips on her skin. Callie had the ability to make Arizona fall deeper in love with her just by how much love was in her touch.

"I was kind of a big deal in high school." Callie said, taking a drink of her beer. "I was good at school, good at sports, had a lot of friends." She spoke softly, from most people Arizona would have found that pompous but not from Callie. "Sam and I were a lot alike but I was always a little ahead of her. She got an A, I got an A+; she got a part in a play and I'd get the lead. So she hated me and took it out by sleeping with the first guy I fell in love with."

Arizona leaned back against Callie a little more, taking her hand and placing a soft kiss on her wrist. "I'm sorry she hurt you, Calliope." She turned in her girlfriend's arms and kissed her lips softly. "I brought the brick Mark gave me; do you want me to hit her with it?"

Callie couldn't help but laugh at Arizona's comment. "No, I think kicking her ass at volleyball was enough. I have to say you are very hot when you are playing sports."

Arizona blushed, her blue eyes sparkling. "You too. You are one badass, you know that?"

Callie smiled, kissing Arizona on the cheek. "Wanna go in and get some dinner? Mama and Papa have dinner plans so we are on our own tonight."

"Can you make your chicken piccata?" Arizona had decided that would always be their dish.

"If we have the stuff." Callie nodded, smiling at the blond. "But I expect you to provide dessert."

"I think I know just the thing for you to eat." Arizona smirked as they got up.

* * *

Callie and Arizona both needed showers to get the sand and sweat off, they changed into jeans and tank tops before going down to the kitchen for dinner. "I think I'm going to go see my grandparent's tomorrow. Do you mind if I go alone?"

"I think it would be safer if you did." Arizona nodded as she sat at the table in the kitchen to watch Callie cook, something she loved to do.

"I just hope they understand." She whispered softly as she cut some things up. "I mean my grandfather has been like a second father to me, he was always the one that told me that no matter what I did he would be proud to call me his granddaughter."

"He still should be. You are an amazing woman, Calliope." Arizona smiled, leaning back and watching Callie's strong hands work.

"You're not so bad yourself." Callie smiled back, putting the dish in the oven and washed her hands. She sat in the chair next to Arizona, putting the blonde's feet in her lap. "You were just rated the top PEDS surgeon in the country."

"Saw that did you?" One of the medical journals came out with a list of the rankings for different specialties; Arizona had been top 3 in PEDS for the last few years. "You were fifth on the ortho list."

"Derek and Mark made their lists too. The hospital board has to be happy to have the press; I think we ended up with 12 on the lists." Callie rubbed Arizona's foot as they talked, enjoying these easy convocations.

Aria walked down and the mood that Callie and Arizona had been enjoyed popped like a balloon. "Got a date with Jimmy, don't wait up." Her skirt was ungodly short and her shirt didn't hide much. Before Callie could say anything she was gone.

"I'm scared for her, Arizona." Callie whispered, looking at her girlfriend, tears in her brown eyes.

"I know." Arizona took her hand, having no idea what to do.


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: Part Two of the Muddy Buddy World. Arizona and Callie go to see the Torres's.

Disclaimer: All television shows, books, movies, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work and the characters, events, and settings thereof are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.

AN - ME: Sorry for the delay folks! I was in Pennsylvania for a family reunion last week and internet was spotty, so I couldn't upload, but here it is at last!

So, writing the Torres grandparents was probably one of my favorite parts of this story, and one of the most difficult. In the end, I took little pieces of both of my own grandparents, as well as pieces of my own imagination. The last line isn't quite what I'd originally planned, but once it was out there, I couldn't imagine any other words being used. W-I-T-T and I probably spent a good 2-3 hours working out the logistics for the end, so I hope you like it.

* * *

Pulling into a parking space, Callie took a moment to look up at the front of the building before her – Miami Police Department. Taking a deep breath, she gets out of the car and enters the building. She stopped at the front desk, not knowing where to go to find the man she was looking for.

"Could you tell me where I can find Jesse Cardoza?" The officer at the front desk hands her a sign-in sheet, asking for ID before giving her a visitors badge and asking her to wait in the chairs. Before she can take two steps, she's stopped by a voice to the side.

"I can take you to Detective Cardoza. Is he expecting you?" Callie turns, facing the woman that questioned her, taking in her gun and shield before answering.

"No, he's not, but I'm an old friend."

"Well, come on back." Callie follows the woman through the halls, taking in the sights of the crime lab, remembering why she's here. Finally they stop outside a room, inside which, Callie sees Jesse laughing with two other men. The trio looks up at the sound of the door opening, and Jesse appears surprised to see his friend twice in two days.

"Callie? What are you doing here?"

"I need your help. Can we talk?"

"Yeah." Jesse leads her out of the room, into another, empty room, across the hall. "What's up?"

"Aria's in trouble, and she doesn't know I'm here talking about this, and no, she won't press charges on her own. Can you help me?"

"What do you know about the situation?" Jesse is all business, he knows that the woman across from him and her sister are not close, so for her to be asking for help on behalf of Aria, it must be serious. Callie pulls out her cell phone, flipping through it to the photo she took of the picture on Aria's bedside table.

"His name is Jimmy." Callie shows him the photo. "I know he's abusing her. Aria said that she got drunk one night, and slept with another guy, and she told Jimmy about it. He gave her a black eye. And Arizona told me last night that Aria asked her about an injury – she'd broken a couple ribs – and the bruise centered over the injury was distinctly shoe shaped. I don't have a last name, but there might be something in the family court about him. We over heard him saying he was going to threaten the mother of his kids if she kept demanding child-support from him."

"Okay." Jesse hits a few buttons and sends the photo to his phone before shutting down the photo album. He allows a quick smile to grace his features at the photo his friend has as her back ground. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I still can't believe that you're gay."

"When you're married, betrayed, gay and abandoned in the space of a few months, you start to re-evaluate your life. I stopped thinking that life was about finding the right guy, and realized that it was more about finding the right person."

"And Arizona is that person?"

"Yeah." Callie smiles briefly, allowing her thoughts to return to the blonde she left in bed that morning, before allowing her thoughts to return to the task at hand. "How long do you think it will take to find something on this guy?"

"I'll give the photo to one of the guys here, and call you when I know something. What else can you tell me about him?"

"Six-two, maybe? Dark hair, green eyes, I'd say he was about 220 pounds, he has a tattoo on his back, at about the first thoracic vertebrae, I don't know of what, I just saw a little bit of it above his collar; and another around his right wrist, that looked like some sort of tribal, barbed wire. I didn't get a great look at it. Square jaw, thin lips, crooked nose – like it had been broken in a few bar fights – thick eyebrows, and one of his ears was really thick – wrestler's ear."

"Okay. I'll let you know if I find anything."

"Thanks, and don't say anything to anyone you don't have to."

"I won't, but listen, my partner, she was abused in her marriage… if you manage to get through to Aria…I know she likely won't talk to a counselor, but maybe she'll still trust me and my opinions. Give me a call if you need me to try and get through to her."

"I will. Thanks, Jesse." Callie reaches up to give him a hug, releasing him to leave the room. Jesse stares after her for a moment, watching as she returns her visitors badge and leaves the building before returning to the room he was originally in and hands his phone to the tech, starting the search for Jimmy.

* * *

Pulling up to the front of her grandparents' house, Callie finds the task ahead of her to be only slightly more daunting than the one she just completed. On the bright side: she recognizes the second car in the driveway… it's that of her grandparents' doctor.

_Well, if I give them a heart attack, at least I know I can get them quick medical attention._ Callie thinks to herself, getting out and moving to ring the doorbell.

As the door opens, a grin spreads across her features at the sight of the woman that answered the door, receiving one in return from the woman that has been her grandparents' housekeeper since she was a child.

"Isabelle!" Callie accepts the hug from the tiny woman, stepping into the house as the older woman steps aside.

"Calliope! I was hoping that I would get to see you sometime this week. How have you been? I saw the article you had published in that fancy journal about your research. Is that going well?"

"It is. There's a second clinical trial starting up next week. The first one was conducted on elderly patients with arthritis; this one is going to be held with younger patients with athletic injuries."

"Didn't I also read something about that research getting you a nomination for the Harper Avery?" Callie looks up to see another familiar face, Doctor Asher Halpern has been a Torres family doctor and friend for years; Callie attended high school and undergrad with the doctor's son, who went on to law school and now works for legal aide in DC.

"Well, I don't know if you read about it, but yes, my research has garnered me a nomination for the Harper Avery." Callie accepts a hug from the older gentleman with a smile, though her face turns serious as she pulls away.

"I don't suppose that I could convince you to stick around for a little while longer?" The doctor immediately grows concerned at the serious look in the young woman's face.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I'm just about to tell my grandparents something that could very well give them a heart attack, and it would be nice to have another doctor on hand should that happen."

"Your grandparents are a lot stronger than you give them credit for, Calliope."

"I'm about to tell my old-school Catholic grandparents that I'm gay, and my girlfriend is in Miami and plans to be in attendance at their anniversary party with me."

"I'll go get my portable defibrillator." The doctor leaves his bag in the entryway, heading out to his car. Callie turns to Isabelle, and finds that the woman doesn't look all that shocked at her announcement, then again, she'd heard it from her own son 20 years prior.

"Your grandparents should be in the sun room, would you like me to bring you some coffee?"

"Maybe tea, instead? I'm nervous enough, I don't need any caffeine."

"Very well, dear." Isabelle turns toward the kitchen to retrieve the requested beverage, while Callie heads deeper into the house, toward the back of the building.

Standing in the entryway to the sun room, Callie allows a moment to observe the elderly couple sitting on the loveseat, facing the back yard and she's assaulted by memories of afternoons of childhood spent in the room, pouring over biology books with her grandfather and learning how to cross-stitch from her grandmother. Before she can allow herself to be too overcome by memories, her grandfather looks up to see her standing in the doorway and stands to greet her.

"Calliope!" Despite being 83 years old, Alexander Torres can still move with surprising grace and agility as he moves forward to give his granddaughter a hug. Yelina Torres isn't so lucky, at 82, she recently had her hip replaced, and is confined to the house with little movement, though she turns to greet her granddaughter with a smile.

"We weren't expecting to see you." Alexander leads Callie toward the sitting area where she leans down to give her grandmother a hug before taking a seat across from them. "How are you doing?"

"Fine. Should I have called before coming over?"

"Of course not!" Yelina assures her. "You know you never have to call first. We're just surprised to see you is all."

"Papa didn't tell you that I was in town this week?"

"You mean for the anniversary party that we don't know he's throwing for us on Friday?" Callie looks up to see her grandmother smirking, the mischievous twinkle in her eye reminds her of Arizona when she's trying to keep her laughter in.

"Yes, for that party." The older couple laughs at their son's attempts to keep a secret from them.

"So how have things been with you?"

"Funny thing. There's something that I need to tell you two, and I hope that you will be okay with it."

"You didn't get married in Vegas again, did you?" The stern tone from her grandfather stuns her; at that time, Isabelle comes in with a tray with a teapot and three cups, setting it down on the table between them. She quickly pours three cups before exiting, shooting Callie an encouraging smile while shutting the door.

"I'm dating someone, someone I love, more than I ever thought that I could love anyone, and I'm willing to give up everything to be with this person."

"What's her name?"

"Ari- wait, what?" Callie stares at her grandmother, shocked.

"Calliope, in all my years on this earth, I've never known anyone to avoid the use of pronouns quite like you do. And you've been avoiding them like a professional during every phone call we've had for the past year… as has my son. Neither of you would feel the need to do so if you were dating another man. So what's her name?"

"Arizona Robbins."

"Tell us about her. Is she pretty?"

"Beautiful." Callie pulls out her phone, showing her grandmother the photo of the two of them that Jesse commented to earlier that day.

"And what does she do? How did you two meet?"

"She's the Head of Pediatric Surgery at Seattle Grace-Mercy West. She, um… she tells the story of our first meeting better, but I had just had a really bad day, and she kissed me in the bar bathroom." Yelina smiles at the emotions gracing her granddaughter's features, remembering her own early days of love with the man by her side.

"Do you love her?"

"With all my heart."

"Does she love you?"

"With all of hers."

"Bring her by for dinner tomorrow?" Callie hesitates.

"I'll … ask her."

"I suppose that's all I can hope for at the moment. Do you suppose that now that you've had the courage to tell us about your sexuality, that your Uncle Roberto will find it in him to do the same?"

Callie chokes on the sip of tea that she'd just consumed. Her grandmother waits until she's cleared her lungs before speaking again.

"What? You think I didn't know?"

* * *

Callie walked into her parent's home after talking to her grandparents. "Hey, how did it go?" Arizona jumped up from the couch and walked over to her girlfriend when Callie walked into Torres Manor. She had a cautious smile on her face, knowing how bad this could have gone.

"Well, they knew I was dating a woman." Callie put her purse down on the coffee table. "Oh, and they knew that Uncle Roberto was gay, too."

"What?"

Callie pulled Arizona down on the couch and explained her conversation with her grandparents; still trying to figure out what to make of it herself. She thought they would yell, cry, beg her to not do what she was doing; they were more upset when she was with George than now. "I think they were more upset I got married in Vegas than that I'm now with a woman." Callie rested her head on Arizona's shoulder.

"That's a good thing." Arizona whispered, holding Callie's hand tightly, making sure that the Latina knew she wasn't going to let go. Ever.

"Wanna go for a walk down the beach?" Callie asked, lifting up her head.

"That sounds really nice." Arizona smiled, standing up and holding her hand out for Callie to take.

Callie and Arizona walked down the white sandy beaches hand in hand. Neither talking for a good half mile, both lost in their thoughts. "They want you to come to dinner tomorrow night."

Arizona smiled as she looked from the water to Callie. "I would love to meet them. You have always said they were a big influence in your life."

"They were. I was over at their house every day after school, swimming or working on my homework." Callie nodded, walking so close to Arizona they bumped hips from time to time.

* * *

"Callie?" A man called, standing up from his spot on a beach towel. "Callie Torres?" He was six feet tall with sandy brown hair and bright green eyes. "Well, as I live and breathe." He grinned, hugging Callie who hugged him back.

"Patrick James I can't believe it's you." Callie grinned brightly into the man's shoulder. She turned to Arizona, retaking her hand. "Arizona Robbins this is Patrick James. He was the male lead in high school; we had to do 50 musicals together from freshmen year to senior year."

Arizona smiled at Patrick, shaking his outstretched hand. "It's nice to meet you, Arizona. Are you one of Callie's doctor friends?"

Arizona and Callie shared a look and started to laugh. "She's my girlfriend, Pat."

"Like girlfriend, girlfriend?" Pat raised an eyebrow.

"Girlfriend, girlfriend."

"Who would have guessed you would be the gay one?" Pat had taken 4 years of being called gay for being in all the musicals. The reason he did it was because that's where all the cute girls were.

Callie laughed softly, shaking her head. "What are you up to now? The last time I saw you I think you were working on your masters."

"I am the new music teacher at our old school." Pat grinned proudly.

"I always knew you loved school too much to leave it." Callie laughed, looking over at Arizona to make sure she wasn't bored out of her mind. Arizona gave her a reassuring smile to let her know she was fine.

"Oh, Callie." Pat got a glint in his eyes for a moment. "You have to come in tomorrow to the school. We are performing your favorite song, and I would love the glee club to see how it is really done. There is a girl that has a lot of promise but she is too shy."

"That all right with you Arizona?"

"I would love to see where you went to school and hear you sing." Arizona chimed in happily. She had never heard Callie sing before and didn't really know that she could before the trip to see her family last year.

"Great, say three, tomorrow?" Pat asked, glad he had run into Callie. He knew that if she could teach Dawn how to put a little show in the song that she could really nail it.

"Perfect."

* * *

Arizona and Callie walked farther down the beach until they came to a shop right off the beach. Arizona smiled as she pulled Callie inside of the weathered shop.

"I want one."

"You do not."

"I do so."

"$20 says you won't go through with it."

"$50 said that you won't."

Callie looked around the tattoo shop, shocked that Arizona wanted one and that she just challenged her to get one. "You are on, McPerky." She teased, using Cristina's nickname.

Arizona walked around the room, looking at each of the photos of what they could do. She wanted to get something that meant something personal. Something that she could link to Callie but not her name or something. She never got people doing that.

As soon as Arizona saw it, she knew it was perfect.

Callie looked on the other side of the shop. She saw a dragon that was cool, an outline of the state of Arizona drew her eyes for a moment. She wanted something that could mean more than one thing so only her closest friends knew the real meaning.

As soon as Callie saw it she knew it was perfect.

Arizona and Callie walked over to the desk with the photos of what they wanted. "Turn them on three?" Callie said.

"One." Arizona grinned, hoping Callie liked it.

"Two." Callie knew Arizona would like hers.

"Three." Callie turned her car to show a simple black butterfly, Arizona had the Yin and Yang sign.

"You love me enough to get a butterfly?" Arizona was nearly in tears. She never thought Callie would do something like this for her. Callie was not a butterfly person at all; she was the badass ortho girl for Pete's sake.

"I got over the butterflies." Callie grinned at Arizona.

* * *

Callie and Arizona heard yelling in Spanish as they walked up to Torres Manor. They looked at each other for a second before they started to run. The sight before them once they got to the house was one neither expected.

Jimmy was in handcuffs, his knuckles bleeding.

Aria was sitting on the couch, both her eyes newly black, her right wrist being held by her left hand, her lip split.

Jesse was holding Jimmy back.

"I came to talk to you; he saw my badge and started hitting Aria." Jesse said, his partner walking Jimmy out to their car.

The housekeeper rushed in with the first aid kit. "Miss Callie can you help her?" She asked, she was over 70 years old, having worked for the Torres family for over 40 years.

"Arizona check her for a concussion while I check her for broken bones." Callie said, her eyes showed just how scared she was for her baby sister. They might never be close but she would kill anyone who hurt her.

Aria was a little slow to respond but after checking her over Arizona could tell she didn't have a concussion. Callie was glad to find no broken bones either. Callie cleaned her lip up and checked her eyes for orbital fractures and found none.

"You are lucky you didn't get hurt more, Aria." Callie whispered, looking into the same brown eyes she had.

Aria didn't say anything as Arizona and Callie checked her over and cleaned her up. She hadn't done anything this time, she hadn't done a single thing to make Jimmy mad at her and he hit her anyway.

"He hit me, Callie." She whispered, saying it slowly. "I didn't do anything this time and he hit me." All the walls she had put up, all the smart ass comments and bravado crumbled as she hugged her older sister tightly.

Callie couldn't help but hold Aria tightly. All the fights, all the differences didn't matter in this moment. Aria was in need of help and Callie would never let her down. She would hold her hand, heal her wounds and rock her to sleep if she had to. She was the big sister, it was her job.

"I need a statement." Jesse walked over to Aria, taking her hand. "About everything he's done to you." He knew this was hard, but he needed it now.

"Can Callie stay for it?" Aria whispered softly, her eyes red from crying and the black eyes. "I can't do this without her."

Arizona kissed the top of Callie's head before going to their room. She knew this was a family moment, that she needed to leave them be for now.

* * *

Callie slowly walked to her bedroom; she had just heard all the things Jimmy had done to her sister over the last year. She had seen victims of abuse before in the ER but hearing her sister tell her these things made her sick.

"How did it go?" Arizona put her book down and shifted over to give Callie room next to her.

"I wish Jesse gave me an hour with him. I would have broken every bone in that bastard's body." Callie's voice in a little rough, she had been crying along with Aria. "He abused her mentally, physical and sexually for a year because she needed to be punished because he didn't like how she acted."

Arizona rocked Callie softly as she cried, tears of her own falling into Callie's hair. She hated life sometimes. A good man like her grandfather, like her brother, died and yet Jimmy still had air in his lungs. She wanted to help Callie break all his bones but then they would be on the same level.

"I love you." Arizona whispered to Callie, knowing she needed to feel loved right now. She needed to feel everything might be good in the world again.

Callie looked up at Arizona with her coffee brown eyes, the edges red and puffy. "Prove it." She whispered, her hand shaking as she moved up to undo Arizona's shirt.

So Arizona did.


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: Part Two of the Muddy Buddy World. Arizona and Callie go to see the Torres's.

Disclaimer: All television shows, books, movies, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work and the characters, events, and settings thereof are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.

AN - ME: Wind-In-The-Trees tried to out do me by posting two updates on her LJ site... Well, we can't have that happen!

I take back my previous comment; I think this is probably my favorite bit to the story. Only this chapter came easy. This was the kind of chapter where you sit down, and twenty minutes later, you've got 3,000 words, with very little effort. Our girls return to high school here, so Callie gets to show off to the current generation of students, and also later on to Arizona.

* * *

The following morning, Arizona woke long before the alarm was set to go off, forgetting that she had turned it off before the two women had gone to bed. Knowing that Callie is likely exhausted from the events of the previous evening, she figures it will be awhile before the woman wakes; she slips out of bed quietly to use the restroom, dressing in running clothes while in there. Exiting the bathroom she's surprised to see Callie sitting up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, and she goes to sit next to her.

"I didn't expect you to wake up so soon." Arizona leans in for a morning kiss, keeping it chaste.

"I never sleep well when you're not beside me, especially after a bad night."

"I figured you'd be so exhausted that you'd sleep awhile longer."

"So that's why you're dressed. You're feeling mean, making me wake up without you next to me." Arizona is pleased to hear the teasing tone coming from her girlfriend. Maybe she really is going to be alright.

"Actually, I've been feeling lazy the last few days; I'm in the mood for a run. Would you like to join me?"

"Give me five minutes." Callie gets out of bed, not bothering to cover herself up for her journey to the bathroom, with a stopover at the closet for clothes. Arizona has to restrain herself from grabbing the brunette and dragging her back into bed for some aerobic activities other than running.

Four minutes later, Callie exits the bathroom, fully clothed and retrieves her running shoes. By the time she's put them on and tied them, five minutes exactly have passed and Callie is dragging Arizona out of the bedroom.

The pair stops outside Aria's room on the way. Callie peeks into her sister's room to see that she's still fast asleep; clutching the stuffed bear she'd slept with in childhood, and quietly shuts the door, leaving her to get more rest. The previous evening had been draining on the younger Torres, both physically and emotionally.

Exiting the house, the pair spends a few minutes stretching before taking off. It's not long before they've exited the gated community and are heading toward the city. For the first few miles, the pair is silent, enjoying the time together. Callie halts the run after a point and points to a break in the buildings, where the sun is rising over the water fusing the sky with color and light. After that, the two women walk onward, chatting about nothing in particular. Arizona wants to question Callie further on what's going to happen with Jimmy, and Callie wants to tell her, but neither bring up the subject for fear of it ruining the moment between them.

Finally they stop at a cart and buy bottles of water before they return to the house. Arizona isn't used to running in the heat and humidity of Miami, and she has to restrain herself from guzzling the water.

"Callie Torres?" They look up to see an older woman, dressed for work, holding a cup with the logo of the coffee shop behind her. Callie stands to greet the woman with a bright smile, though she refrains from hugging her, given how sweaty she is.

"Dr. Grant! How are you?"

"Very well, how are you? Are you in town visiting your parents?"

"Yes. My grandparent's anniversary is on Friday," Callie turns, remembering Arizona, finding that she's standing behind her now, though she comes to view when Callie looks. "This is my girlfriend, Arizona; Arizona, this is Dr. Claire Grant, she was my science teacher in high school."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Arizona grins broadly, accepting the outstretched hand in greeting. "What subject did you have Calliope for?"

"Biology freshman year, AP Physical Science sophomore year, AP Chemistry junior year, and AP Anatomy and Physiology and AP Biology senior year. Every year the school changed the classes I taught and every year I managed to have this young lady in my room."

"Wow, my girlfriend was a nerd." The sight of the dimples lets Callie know that the blonde is kidding around, and she's quick to retaliate.

"Hey, Kerry showed me all of your report cards, I didn't take anywhere near as many AP courses as you did. And I wanted to be a doctor, the science classes were the best way to prepare me."

"And prepare she did. Most people take drawing and painting, or ceramics, or home ec for their extra electives. Callie here took every science class Miami High School had to offer. Except first semester her freshman year, she took auto shop. She wanted to learn how to rebuild a car. That fall her uncle took her to the junkyard, where she found the frame of an old t-bird. She rebuilt that thing from the spark plugs up; it took her all four years of high school, and the first few of college. Even when her father bought her a brand new convertible, she still kept working on that thing." Dr. Grant supplies.

"Hey, my t-bird lasted longer than the convertible. That convertible didn't even survive past graduation night."

"Because Max Reilly wrapped it around a telephone pole… you still have the t-bird!"

"Yup. It's back in Seattle. That car has lasted longer than any other relationship I've had – with a car or a person."

"Right. Well-," suddenly she stops, it's clear the older woman has an idea. "Do you have any plans for today?"

"I'll be at the school later on today. I saw Pat yesterday, he asked me to stop by and visit with his music class and the Glee Club."

"I don't suppose that you'd be willing to stop by and speak to a few of my classes also, would you? I've only got four, and you don't have to speak at all of them. It's just that, I just gave them all exams, and I'd rather not start on anything new right away, seeing as there was so much information on the last test. I was planning on showing them a movie, but if you're willing…" She trails off, hoping for affirmation from the young woman. Callie looks to Arizona to see if she'd be okay with it. The blonde has a ready smile.

"And miss the opportunity to see you in your old element?"

"I suppose I can be there, Pat said his music class is last period."

"Great. No need to rush; I've got planning the first period of the day, and department planning last period, so you won't be missing out on one of my classes. I'll be sure to let the front office know that you're coming. Now, I best get going, I've got a department meeting in 20 minutes."

The trio says their good-byes, watching the older woman jump into her car and take off.

"She'll probably be the only person this week that won't be shocked to hear I'm dating a woman." Callie sounds wistful at the spoken thought.

"Why is that?" Arizona questions as the pair start walking back toward the house, finishing their water along the way.

"She's kind of like Bailey – if you take away the 'take no prisoners' attitude – she doesn't care much for the personal lives and opinions of others. If she cares about you, you should count yourself lucky, because she will defend you until her dying breath."

"And she cares about you?"

"I'll never know, no one ever does, until they've experienced her defense." The pair tosses the empty bottles in one of the many recycling bins that line the street before picking up the pace for the return trip home.

* * *

Arriving home just after 8:30, Callie checks in on Aria again to find her still sleeping, so she moves on to her room to get cleaned up. She enters the bathroom to find Arizona undressing for a shower.

"I'm not going to have to clean the throw-up out of your hair again, am I?" Arizona is only slightly teasing.

"Not likely. These are kids; chances are they won't know what I'm talking about even if I do say the wrong thing."

"Would you have known if a guest speaker like yourself made a mistake? 'Cause you seem to have been the type of kid that would have."

"I probably would have, I just likely wouldn't have had the confidence to speak up about it."

"You? Not confident enough to speak your mind? That doesn't sound like the Calliope I know and love." Arizona boosts herself onto the counter, waiting for an answer. Callie moves to tuck herself in between the blonde's legs, wrapping her arms around the woman's waist.

"A lot has changed since high school. I had friends – a lot of friends – but I was never super confident." Callie retrieves a waterproof bandage from the bag of supplies they got yesterday after getting their tattoos and proceeds to apply it over Arizona's wrist. "Back then, I wasn't confident unless I was onstage, performing. And even then I couldn't speak in public."

"So you could sing and perform to a crowd of hundreds, but you couldn't lecture a crowd that same size for twenty minutes?" Arizona returns the favor, wrapping Callie's tattooed wrist after applying a fresh coat of antibacterial cream.

"I know. But it's true. I was the kid that loved to learn and probably could teach half of my classes better than the teachers could, but I never did have the confidence to speak up."

"Sports didn't give you any confidence?"

"I ran cross-country and track, I was on the rock-climbing team, the surfing team, crew… For the most part, those are silent sports. I played recreation league basketball, but even though I was good at the sport, I sucked at the communication aspect; I wound up stopping after the first season. Plus they weren't the kids I knew. It would take me awhile to make new friends; most of my friends were people like Jesse – the kids I'd known since kindergarten."

"Hmmm," Arizona leans in for a kiss, one that quickly deepens, until the two women are forced apart by the need for oxygen. "So 15 years ago, you never would have approached me like you did in Joe's to defend your newborn status?"

"Are you kidding me? I never would have had the confidence to approach you in the hospital to ask you out!"

"Well then, I thank whatever higher powers gave you that confidence. Otherwise, I would have missed out on the best part of my life." The two pull apart only to strip away the remaining clothing before they are back in each other's embrace. Eventually, Callie picks Arizona up to carry her into the shower.

* * *

"Good morning, girls." Callie and Arizona enter the kitchen to find Mama setting the table with a simple breakfast of fresh fruit, granola and yogurt. "I was just about to go wake up Aria, could one of you do it for me?"

"I looked in on her when we came down; she was still dead to the world."

"Really? I didn't think she went anywhere last night."

"She didn't," Callie attempts to cover for her sister. "But we stayed up late talking." Andromeda doesn't appear to believe her, so Arizona jumps in.

"It's true. I was there also. Aria tried her best to intimidate me while questioning my intentions toward Calliope."

"I think Erin was scarier." Callie quickly adds.

"Erin can be scarier than your father if she puts her mind to it."

"Anyways, we finally went to our own bed around two in the morning. And she seemed to have been busy yesterday, so let her rest some. Especially if you're going to be roping her into helping you supervise the set up for the party tomorrow."

"Fine." Callie whips out her phone and sends her sister a quick text, explaining the story she told their mother while her back is turned, so Aria won't be caught unawares later before sitting down to breakfast.

"So, what do you girls have planned for today?" Andromeda takes in the outfits the girls are wearing: Jeans, a white and blue patterned blouse, sandals and leather jacket for Callie; and a royal blue sundress and sandals for Arizona.

"We ran into Dr. Grant on our run this morning, she asked me to speak to her students today. And then we're going to stop by Patrick's music class and Glee Club afterwards."

"And then there's dinner afterwards." Arizona reminds her.

"Right, and then we've got dinner with Abuela and Abuelo."

"Both of them? Both of you?" Andromeda looks worriedly between the two. Callie immediately picks up on it and is quick to reassure her.

"I had lunch with them yesterday and I told them all about Arizona. They both wanted to meet her, and invited us over for dinner."

"They know? They know that you're…"

"Gay? Yes, they know. And they were fine with it."

"Okay." The older woman relaxes. Given that her parents live on the opposite side of the world, the Torres elders were quick to invite her into the family fold 35 years ago when Carlos brought her home for the first time. The two have been like second parents to her, and she would hate to see them in any sort of pain.

"Well, thanks for breakfast, mama, but we'd better get going if we want to be at the school in time."

"Okay, have fun, girls." She accepts a kiss from each of them on their way out the kitchen before moving to clean up the dishes.

* * *

"Well, well, well, as I live and breathe, Callie Torres has returned to MHS!" Callie looks up to see her favorite former teacher – but don't tell Dr. Grant that – exit the principal's office as she's signing her and Arizona in to the visitor's log.

"Dr. Fitz." She accepts the enthusiastic hug from the older gentleman before releasing him and introducing him to Arizona. "This is Arizona Robbins, Arizona, this is Dr. Fitzgerald, he was my music teacher and Glee coach. He snagged the position of top dog right around the same time Pat was applying to teach here."

"Pleasure to meet you, Arizona. You're a lucky woman to have snagged a woman like Callie here. I got the heads up from Claire." He elaborates at Callie's questioning look. She's prevented from commenting at the sound of a bell, followed by the collective sound of 4,000 students moving to their next class. "You had better get going if you want to make it to class in time."

"Are we going to see you at Glee practice later?"

"And miss the chance to see my two former superstars performing together again? Try and keep me away! I dare you." With one last hug, Dr. Fitz returns to his office, while Callie leads Arizona out into the madness that is a high school during class change.

"He's young." Arizona comments as they make their way through the halls.

"Yeah, the ink wasn't even dry on his Masters when he started teaching here when he was 25 – made it kind of difficult for the students to take him seriously when he wasn't that much older than most of us. He did his Ph.D. through an online school and finished it just as the previous principal was retiring. He's been in the front office for seven years now." They arrive at their destination, and Callie holds the door open for her, following her into the classroom. Dr. Grant looks up at their arrival.

"Hey! Perfect timing. Are you going to need the projector?"

"Nope. I didn't plan anything. I just figured I'd get up and talk."

"Any ideas as to what you'll be talking about?"

"My research is a good place to start. I published an article last summer about cartilage that I'd made from scratch, it's about to start its second clinical trial next week."

"Sounds good; I'm just going to be sitting in the back grading papers, but let me know if you'll need anything."

"Will do." The group falls silent as the last of the students trickle in seconds before the final bell.

"Alright kids," Dr. Grant grabs their attention. "Given how much information was on your test yesterday, I'm going to give you a little break before diving into the next unit. This is Callie Torres. She's an alumnus of this great institution, and she's graciously agreed to speak to you today." Dr. Grant steps aside, leading Arizona back to the back of the classroom, giving Callie an encouraging smile on the way.

"Okay, you all can call me Callie, please. I'm an attending orthopedic surgeon at Seattle Grace-Mercy West Hospital in Washington State. I'm going to start with a simple question. True or false: Cartilage can regenerate and heal itself."

"False." A young girl in the front row is quick to respond, though her tone is soft, shy even. "There's no blood supply to cartilage, which makes it impossible to regenerate."

"Very good. And the only way to fix it is to take tissue from another part of the body and move it to where it's needed. Which is dangerous… but there's a new way to fix cartilage degeneration. That is: fake cartilage." The girl in the front row laughs softly at the idea. "You don't think it's possible?"

"Making cartilage from scratch? Not possible."

"You're sure?"

"Yes." Callie digs into her bag, pulling out the issue of the American Medical Journal that published the article on her first clinical trial. She hands it to the young girl, who takes in the image of the woman on the front cover – the woman currently standing before her.

"If you'll open that to page 17, you'll find an article on the successful clinical trial that tested the cartilage for the first time last fall. It is possible, though there are still problems, so it is possible, just not 100%, not yet anyways."

The young girl slides down in her chair in embarrassment as Callie continues on with her lecture.

"It's alright; all the bioengineers told me it was impossible also. Difference between them and me? I was more invested in it, I wanted to see it happen, and succeed…"

Arizona smiles at Callie from the rear of the classroom as she continues to amaze her, reaching out and inspiring each of the students before her. Sure, all the guys were likely paying attention to her looks more so than her words, but after the first few intelligent questions posed to her girlfriend, she realized that they were still absorbing what Callie was saying.

_Well, if she can't be a surgeon, she'd make one hell of a teacher._

* * *

"Thank you so much for this, Callie and you, Arizona." Dr. Grant thanks the two women profusely. When Callie's voice had begun to give half-way through her final AP Anatomy class, Arizona had been quick to step in with her own stories and lectures.

"Our pleasure. But we'd better get going. Patrick wanted me to show off to his current Glee kids."

"I know. And if I didn't have a meeting with a parent and Dr. Fitzgerald, I'd go watch. Have fun."

"We will." Callie gives the older woman one last hug, letting go so Arizona can drag her out the room after saying good-bye herself.

"Sooo," Arizona drags the word out. "Just how good were you in Glee?"

"Four time National Champions, good." Callie stops them before a trophy case near the front office, pointing out the State and National Show Choir championship trophies with the sequential years on the bases of them. Between each of the trophies is a group photo of the Glee Club that year. Arizona quickly picks out her girlfriend in each of them. The wide smile and bright-eyed look is the same now as it was then, and she's quick to recognize the deep dimples of one and the green eyes of the other boy on each side of her – one Jesse Cardoza and Patrick James each have their arms around Callie and they, like the rest of the team are mugging for the camera after one of their wins, evidenced by the trophy in front of the group. Surrounding each pair of large trophies are smaller individual awards for various members for songs. Several of them have Callie's name on them, Arizona notices.

"Well, let's get going then, your audience awaits you."

* * *

Walking back into the Glee room Callie felt 17 again. Any stress about Aria, any worries about her family dealing with her being gay, every worry and fear melted away. The room felt the same, gave her the same feeling deep down.

"I had forgotten how much I loved this room." Callie whispered, the room was empty except for Arizona and Callie. "I spent so many hours in here; it was like a second home." She walked over to the old piano, brushing her fingers over the white keys.

Arizona stood against the wall and watched as Callie walked around, rediscovering things that she had forgotten. She had never seen Callie's eyes sparkle so much outside of their bedroom or an OR before. She turned her head when Pat walked in, smiling warmly at him.

"She and I must have spent every lunch in here for four years." He stood next to Arizona, keeping his voice down so Callie could get lost in her memories. He was dressed like a respectable teacher, blue button up shirt and a tie with music notes on it. "She was shy in high school but when she sang, she glowed."

Arizona looked from the man at her side to her girlfriend. Callie had a grin as wide as she could on her face as she searched in the music files. "She gets that look in the OR now. Such pride and love in her work."

Callie pulled out a song and turned, smiling at Pat. "If it's alright with you I think we should sing this one." She handed him the song they won Nationals with their last year of school.

Pat chuckled. "Think you can keep up with me, Torres?" He challenged her, knowing that was the easiest way to get a rise out of her.

"The real question, Pat, is can you keep up with me." Callie laughed as the bell rang.

Twenty kids slowly trickled into the music room, all colors and sizes. Callie and Arizona walked over and sat at Pat's desk, letting him introduce them when he was ready. Callie took Arizona's hand, a little nervous and a little excited for this.

"Alright everyone." Pat said, standing in the front of the class room. "Today I brought in a guest to show you how a duet is done." A few of the students whispered, trying to figure out who it was, not seeing Callie and Arizona. "Now back in 1995 the female lead and I needed a song for the opening of our set. We wanting something where we could show off a little and everyone would know the words. So we picked A Whole New World from Aladdin."

Most of the girls and a few of the guys laughed and clapped at the song, liking it and of course knowing the words. It had been the song that won them a competition last year.

"Now to get the full effect of 1995 I have with me the female lead. Callie would you be so kind as to come up here?" Callie kissed Arizona's cheek before walking to the front of the room.

"Hey guys." Callie smiled out; she had seen most of these kids in the sciences classes she talked to. Pat walked over to the piano and put the music down. "I haven't done this in a long time so don't be too hard on me."

"Ready Callie?" He asked, cracking his knuckles. Callie took a few deep breaths before she nodded. She closed her eyes as Pat started to play and then sing.

"I can show you the world."

Those six worlds started the fire inside of Callie that she hadn't had to perform in almost 15 years. She and Pat traded lines back and forth, their voices blending just as they had the night of the final show of their high school lives.

"I can't go back to where I used to be!"

Callie looked over at Arizona as she sang that line, knowing the meaning deeper now than ever before. Arizona couldn't move, could barely breathe as she watched Callie and Pat. Callie was glowing, her voice like a siren song, drawing her in to die upon the rocks. She had seen that same look in Callie's eyes before, but only during love making and operations. It was a look that she loved to witness, one that meant Callie was at her finest.

"For you and me!"

As Pat and Callie sang the last line they looked at each other, grinning like children when the last note died in the air. They shared a hug when Pat stood, the Glee club standing and cheering for them; Arizona cheering right along with them, now knowing another side of Callie that she had not known before.

* * *

Arizona and Callie got back to Torres Manor just after 4 in the afternoon. They walked inside, both smiling and holding hands. The day at Miami High was well spent and put both in really good moods. Callie couldn't believe how good she felt after singing with Pat, she'd missed it and forgotten the rush of singing.

"Hey, Mama." Callie kissed her mother's cheek, grabbing two bottles of juice.

"How was going back to high school?" She took her glasses off and looked up from the menu she had been trying to plan for a party Carlos needed to have a month from now.

"I was a big hit." Callie grinned, handing Arizona one of the bottles. "Pat and I knocked our song out of the park and the science classes really had some good questions on my research."

Arizona smiled proudly at Callie, taking her hand back after opening her juice. "I hadn't heard Calliope sing before this, I have to say it was a treat." She kissed Callie's cheek softly. "I might have to ask you to sing for me from now on."

Andromeda watched the two young woman interact, seeing all the love between them. She couldn't have asked for anymore for her oldest daughter, anymore than true love. "What time do you have to go to dinner?"

"In about two hours." Callie looked down at her watch. "I think I'm going to take a nap before we go, wanna join me babe?"

Arizona finished off her juice, nodding. "I think that is a super idea."

The two women walked up to Callie's bedroom, both stripping down to nothing before they got into the cool bed. Legs and arms tangled as they always did when the two lovers slept together.

"You were really good today Calliope." Arizona whispered, stroking her lover's hair.

"I'm glad you think so." She kissed Arizona's jaw softly before she reached over and set the alarm. "That means as much to me as any of my trophies. But you mean more than anything to me."

Arizona cuddled to Callie, breathing in her earthy scent. "Love you, Calliope."

"Love you too, Arizona." Callie whispered, falling into a deep slumber.

Arizona groaned as the alarm went off, telling her she needed to get ready for dinner with Callie's grandparents. She hit it off before kissing Callie and going to the bathroom. She'd let her sleep a little extra while she showered.

She looked in the mirror after her shower, a towel wrapped around her. She knew tonight was a big step in her and Callie's relationship, that it meant a lot for their future. She used a second towel to dry her hair before walking out of the bathroom and over to where she hung her dress up.

When Callie woke up, the first thing she saw was a wet, naked Arizona. "If this is a dream, I never want to wake up." She chuckled, her voice still deep with sleep.

Arizona rolled her eyes playfully while putting cream on her skin. "Go take your shower. I don't want to be late tonight."

Callie laughed, sitting up in bed. The blankets pooled around her waist, leaving her chest bare. "Sure you don't need another shower?"

"Go, Calliope, before I am forced to put you on restricted sex intake." Arizona said, her face not showing the grin she felt. Callie stuck her tongue out before walking into the bathroom to get ready.

Almost an hour later the two women walked downstairs. Both ready as they ever would be for this dinner. Knowing that her grandparents didn't seem to mind helped Arizona from shaking out of her heals.

Callie was in a fitted black dress that showed off her figure but was modest because of who they were going to dinner with. Her hair was back in a tight bun; Arizona's Valentine's present around her neck, a ring she got for her sweet 16 and some simple make up completed her look.

Arizona was in a red dress, strapless, falling just below her knee. Her hair was loose and she had curled it, Callie always loved when she did that. She had on her Valentine's present as always, a tennis bracelet her father had given her when she finished medical school and just a little make up.

Aria walked out of the kitchen as they were putting their jackets on. She had jeans and a tank top on, she looked a little like she had been sick for weeks but was starting to get better. "Have fun tonight." Her voice was soft, not a trace of sarcasm in it.

"We'll talk when I get back." Callie kissed her forehead, giving her a hug. "I love you Aria, don't forget that." Aria nodded before watching the happy couple leave for the night.


	5. Chapter 5

Summary: Part Two of the Muddy Buddy World. Arizona and Callie go to see the Torres's.

Disclaimer: All television shows, books, movies, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work and the characters, events, and settings thereof are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.

AN - ME: Okay, there's some serious seriousness in what's to come. There's a little fun interrogation, but also a serious chat that sets the stage for the girls' future relationship, and Callie's parents find out just how serious their relationship really is.

* * *

Callie and Arizona stood in front of the door to Callie's grandparent's house.

"Ready?"

"I think so."

Callie lifted her hand and knocked firmly on the door. When Alexander opens the door himself Callie was a little surprised. He just chuckled at his granddaughter. "I gave all the help the day and night off. For you and Arizona I cooked myself."

Callie couldn't help but give the man a tight hug. Few people knew how good Alexander Torres could cook; even fewer people had eaten his food. If he took the time to cook for them that meant Arizona was already ahead in the game.

Callie pulled back, blushing a little. "Arizona Robbins this is my grandfather Alexander Torres, Abuelo this is my girlfriend Dr. Arizona Robbins."

"It's very nice to meet you, sir." Arizona smiled her dimpled smile.

Alexander stepped forward, hugging the young woman. "Please call me Alexander or Abuelo. Really being called sir was never something that I enjoyed." He smiled bigger than what Callie had seen in a long time.

"You are in for one of the best meals of your life Arizona." Callie told Arizona once the hug ended. They all walked inside and toward the back dining room that was just off the kitchen, where Callie's grandmother was. "What's on the menu for today?"

Alexander couldn't help but grin as they walked though the kitchen. "I made empanadas, creamed plantain soup with cilantro, Cuban lamb shanks, veal scallops with bacon, a banana Rum Custard Tart for dessert and Sangria and Mojitos to drink."

Arizona's mouth started to water as Alexander told them what would be eating for dinner. She hadn't had Cuban food before but the kitchen smelled wonderful and it sounded yummy. They walked into the small dining room and Yelina Torres was seated at the table.

"Hello, Abuela." Callie walked over, kissing her cheek before hugging her.

"Your grandfather has outdone himself, Calliope. I haven't seen him cook so much since I was carrying your father." Yelina laughed, her eyes lighting up like Callie's did when she laughed.

"I must get back to finishing the food. You three talk, it will be done soon." Alexander smiled before walking back to the kitchen.

"Arizona this is my grandmother, Yelina Torres." Callie said as they both sat on the other side of the table. "Abuela this is Dr. Arizona Robbins."

"Hello, young lady." Yelina smiled at Arizona. "So you are the woman that had taken my little ones heart? Well I am glad she has found someone smart enough to see past the smart mouth." The other woman teased Callie.

"It took a little bit of time, but I saw past it." Arizona laughed, playing along. "But once I saw what was underneath I couldn't help but fall in love with her."

Callie bent over, kissing her cheek softly. "You are such a sap."

"You are too." Arizona reminded her.

"Only because of you."

Yelina watched the exchange with a broad smile on her face. She and Alexander still had little back and forth like that, making each other smile like school children.

"Tell me Arizona, do you enjoy your work?" Yelina knew that asking someone that told her a lot about a person; if they did their job for money or love for one.

"Most days I love my job." Arizona said, holding Callie's hand. "There are some days that are hard to get to the end of, 36 hours standing in the OR trying to save little kids can get to you. But it makes me try harder."

Callie looked over at Arizona, smiling and holding her hand a little tighter. "Abuela, Arizona is the best pediatric surgeon in the country. Don't let her fool you; she is at the top of her field." Callie could help but brag about her girlfriend.

"And Calliope is at the top of hers." Arizona said, unable to help herself about bragging either. "Her research is going to change the way Ortho is done."

Before Callie could say anything Alexander brought in the food, two platters at a time until all of it was on the table. The last two things he brought in were the drinks. Arizona couldn't help but think about skipping lunch. Callie, Arizona, Yelina and Alexander filled their plates with the rich and fragrant food before taking each other hands and saying grace. Arizona wasn't use to it but didn't mind doing it.

"Everything smells great." Arizona smiled, taking a bit of the lamb. She had never had lamb before but this was so well cooked she forgot about the cute little stuffed lamb she use to sleep with as a kid.

"Alexander doesn't cook much anymore." Yelina smiled, looking at her husbanding lovingly. "But he always makes me soup when I don't feel well." Alexander took her hand, kissing her hand softly.

Callie looked over at Arizona and smiled, putting her hand on her thigh a moment. "Are you planning on having children?" Yelina asked to two women.

Arizona blushed, not looking at Callie. "We're debating about it but there is a chance." She felt Callie's hand rest back on her leg.

"Oh Calliope, did you hear about what happened to your friend Pete?" Alexander changed the subject, not seeing the look in his granddaughter's eyes.

After dinner was over they moved into the living room for desert; Alexander and Yelina on one couch and Callie and Arizona on the other. No one said anything for a few moments before Alexander spoke.

"Your grandmother and I talked for a long time after we figured out that you were with a woman, to try to decide how we felt about it." He said softly, looking at both women. "The day you were born Calliope, I held you in my arms and asked God to bring you true love. Who are we to turn our back on you once you have found it?"

Callie smiled standing and hugging her grandfather tightly. "Thank you, Abuelo." She sat back down in her seat and took a deep breath, glad they were really alright with this.

"We were upset with you when you married so quickly because we knew you weren't in love." Yelina said, her voice firm with the granddaughter she loved so much. "And we want to be there to see you marry. Best remember that for next time, Calliope."

Callie blushed, looking at her and nodding. "You will be there, I promise."

Arizona nodded in agreement. "I think if we did get married between both our mothers we would have the known world there." She teased Callie a little.

"At least 400 people." Callie groaned. "Mama will have all Daddy's friends and people from work there." It didn't bother her as much if Arizona was going to end up as her wife, she hoped Arizona knew that.

"At least we can tease Matty about having to wear his dress uniform." Arizona reminded Callie, both women sharing a laugh. "Though Dad is very handsome."

"Do you still have your uniform, Alexander?" Yelina asked her husband.

"You saw me in it last week." He smirked, causing Callie to choke on her coffee.

"That's nasty." Callie groaned.

* * *

Callie walked to Aria's room after she and Arizona got home. She had put on a tank top and pajama pants and taken off her make up when she got home. She knocked on the door before looking in.

"Come in." Aria looked up from the book she was reading to see her older sister. "Hey Cal."

Callie shut the door behind her and sat down on Aria's bed. "I talked to Jesse today. He said that you formally pressed charges against Jimmy." She took her little sister's hand in hers.

"I did." Aria put her book down, trying not to cry. She hated to do it and that felt like the only thing she had done in the last few days. "He's not the first bad relationship I've been in you know."

Callie closed her eyes, taking a breath to try to clam herself down and control herself. "He wasn't?"

"I started dating guys like Jimmy when I was 15, one after the other." Aria admitted. "That's why I was such a bitch. If I wasn't, if I let you or Mama and Papa in, you would have figured it out."

"Why did you date guys that hurt you like that, Aria?" Callie couldn't help but ask her. She had always thought her sister knew better than to let a guy treat her like that. That she had more self respect that to allow it.

Aria didn't say anything, just shaking her head. "I'm thinking of taking some college courses this year. I never thought I could but maybe I can."

Callie smiled, hugging her sister tightly for a long moment. "You can do anything you want to Aria. You are a Torres and we Torres's are tough as nails and as stubborn as mules."

Aria laughed softly, a few tears falling. "Yeah we are." She looked down her hands before back up at Callie. "I like Arizona, I mean she's nice and I can tell she loves you. Don't mess this one up, I want you to be happy, Cal."

Callie kissed the top of her head softly. "I plan to be with Arizona for a very long time, she is good for me and I'm good for her; I love her very much. She's got a nice ass, too."

Aria snorted, sitting back upright. "Your feelings on your girlfriend's ass, is something I didn't need to ever know."

"We use to talk about boys all the time Aria." Callie said, still holding her hand. "It's the same thing."

"No it's not." Aria said. "I don't want to sleep with your girlfriend like I did with your boyfriends." She pointed out.

"I'm sure Arizona will be relieved to hear that."

Callie walked back up to her bedroom where Arizona was waiting for her after talking to Aria for an hour. She got into bed next to the blonde who was reading. "What are you reading?"

"Gone with the Wind; I found it on your bookshelf." Arizona finished her page before putting the book down and turning to cuddle with Callie.

"Tonight went really well." Callie kissed her jaw softly, stroking the side of her neck. "Abuela and Abuelo really liked you." She smiled, pleased with that.

"I haven't found your family half as bad as you warned me they would be. Maybe they just like me more than they like you." Arizona teased, she put a hickey on Callie's neck, smirking when she pulled back to look at her work. "I am rather good at making those."

Callie closed her eyes and moved her hand to feel the mark. "Great, I hope I can cover that up. Daddy will not be happy if all the photos of me for the party have a bright red hickey in them."

"Just stand with the hickey away from the camera." Arizona grinned, resting her head against Callie's. "How many people will be at the party?"

"I'm not sure. It'll be mostly family, a few of the partners from Abuelo's old businesses, friends. No more than 150 I think." Callie whispered, enjoying the feeling of being at peace in her childhood bed with her girlfriend, the love of her life.

"Do your cousins know about your newfound gayness or are we roommates?"

"Most of them know and I'll tell the ones that don't. My generation is a lot less strict then our parents. I don't think any of them will have a problem with it." Callie whispered, nearly sleeping.

Arizona just cuddled closer to Callie, breathing deeper and deeper as Callie's breathing lulled her to sleep.

* * *

The clock read 3 am when Arizona's cell phone went off. She groaned, reaching over and hitting the send button.

"Robbins." She muttered, sitting up in bed.

"Dr. Robbins it's Dr. Milton." Dr. Milton said from the other end of the line. "Sandy Roberts is bleeding into her lungs and we have no one on staff who can figure out what treatment is best." His voice was tense and controlled. "We emailed you all of her information."

Arizona got out of bed and opened her computer and looking at all the files they sent her. She and the other doctor talked for over two hours, Arizona asking for a test to be done and Dr. Milton doing it and sending her the results.

When she hung up the phone, after the bleeding was under control and Sandy would be fine, she felt like she ran 10 miles. She hoped she didn't wake up Callie, inwardly cursing when she saw that her eyes were open.

"Sorry I woke you." Arizona whispered softly. "A little 4 week old had a bleed and they needed my help to save her."

"You are an amazing doctor Arizona Robbins." Callie whispered, kissing her girlfriend deeply. She was always turned on when Arizona saved a life, used that brilliant mind of hers to heal tiny humans. "You just saved a little girl's life from 3,000 miles away, how does it feel?"

"Pretty damn wonderful." Arizona panted softly, closing her eyes so she didn't cry. "I love when I can save any of the kids in my department. They have their whole lives ahead of them and deserve to a shot to live it." Losing someone at 90 was hard but they had a chance to live a long life, losing someone at 9 was heart breaking and made Arizona sick more than once.

Callie wrapped her bone breaking arms around her girlfriend, holding her to her chest. "You would make a really good mother." She whispered, not wanting to push Arizona but wanting to plant the seed in her mind.

Arizona just smiled, both closing their eyes. She had been thinking about kids a lot more since she was here. She still didn't know if she could ever get over the fear, the worry, the idea that one day her child might end up in an OR with a doctor that didn't know what they were doing or that couldn't save them. "You would too." She whispered, a little hope filling her heart as she remembered she just saved a life.

* * *

"Hmm," Arizona sighs in contentment, snuggling deeper into Callie's side. After spending the morning helping Mama Torres iron out the final details for the party, the couple went out to lunch, and then spent the afternoon on the beach. Now, they're waiting for dinner to be announced while waiting out on the back deck.

"I kind of wish we could see the sunset." Arizona sighs. The view in front of them is that of the indigo sky, while the colors of the sunset are behind them. Though they can see the moon rising over the horizon and the stars start to appear. "But this view is nice also."

"Yes it is." Arizona looks up, to see that Callie is looking down at her, rather than out at the ocean, and blushes, burying her face back into Callie's neck.

"Hey, you two." The pair looks up to see Aria walking out onto the deck holding two blankets, one of which she hands to them, before curling up onto a chaise, tucking the second around her frame.

"I have two things I need to ask you about, Aria." Since Jimmy's arrest, the two sisters had become much closer, talking often, and ceasing to use each other's full name – unless they were teasing each other.

"Shoot."

"First, whatever cover-up you use, can I borrow some tomorrow? This one," Callie motions down to Arizona, a teasing tone in her voice, "gave me this." She tilts her head to the side to reveal to Aria the hickey Arizona gave her the previous evening. Both her sister and the blonde tucked into her side giggle softly at the brunette's misfortune.

"Sure. What else do you need to know?"

"Are you going to tell mama and papa about Jimmy?" Aria goes still, and Callie knows by the expression on Aria's face that the wrong person just heard that question.

"What about Jimmy?" The older pair turns to see Carlos and Andromeda standing behind them, with Jesse at their side. "Well?" He prompts again, when no one answers. Callie turns to Aria, silently prompting her to tell their parents what happened.

"Jimmy's been abusing me." Aria's voice is so soft, everyone almost misses what she has to say, but not entirely, Carlos obviously heard it, given the furious expression crossing his features. Jesse jumps in before he can get too upset.

"He was arraigned this afternoon. No bail was set, he's being held in remand. And…" Jesse trails off, debating whether to say anything, but the look on Carlos' face prompts him forward. "I might have made a deal with an old witness. I got his kid brother transferred to the same prison as him… in return he had to spread the word that Jimmy was in for abusing kids."

"Why would you do that?" Mama questions, her confusion evident. Jesse looks to Aria, getting silent permission before continuing.

"When it comes to child abusers, prisoners tend to hit first, ask questions never. Let's just say that Jimmy ran into a few walls today."

"Very well." Carlos is still angry, but he calms down briefly, taking a few deep breaths. "Dinner will be ready in about 30 minutes; would you care to join us, Jesse?"

"If it's alright, I'd love to. But I don't want to intrude on your family time."

"You are family, Jesse." Aria jumps in with a soft smile that he is quick to return.

"Then I'd love to." Aria scoots over on her chaise, lifting one end of the blanket for Jesse to scoot under with her, while the parents take up residence on another.

"So, exactly how serious is this?" Jesse motions between Callie and Arizona to indicate what he meant with his question.

"Are you questioning my intentions in this relationship, Detective Cardoza?" Arizona tries to sound serious, but can't, her smile is always evident in her voice, and tonight is no exception.

"The Torres women are like the little sisters I never had, so yes, I'm questioning your intentions."

"I have no intentions of ever letting her go. Not if it's within my power or choice." Arizona goes serious with her answer, and Jesse nods in acceptance.

"Good. Now I know marriage between you two is only legal in like, six states, none of which are Washington, but do you have any intention of making this permanent?" The two women share a glance, silently debating how much to tell them. Granted, the topic of allowing their moms to throw them a wedding ceremony has come up, but it's never really voiced it beyond a comment here or there, and Arizona knows that she wants to ask Callie properly, she's just waiting for a less hectic moment in their lives to do it – provided that moment will actually arrive. Their silence is enough to arouse suspicion in the others, especially Carlos, who loudly clears his throat, expecting an answer.

"Do I need to have another post-nuptial drawn up?"

"No, dad, you don't. Not that it would matter. Arizona has my durable power of attorney over medical, financial and legal choices should I be unable to make them myself."

"What? When did this happen?" Carlos' anger once again makes itself known. Andromeda looks slightly worried for her oldest daughter, while Jesse and Aria are holding back smirks at Callie's announcement.

"A few months ago." Callie answers calmly, drawing strength from Arizona's tightening embrace. "Right after we filed as domestic partners." Carlos opens his mouth to respond, but is stopped by his wife's hand on his arm. She looks to the couple with minor concern.

"And what brought that choice on?" Her controlled tone is soft, but those that know her can tell she's working hard at keeping it that way.

Once again, the couple turns to each other, carrying on a silent conversation. Eventually, Callie nods softly and turns back to her parents.

"Last Thanksgiving weekend, this woman came in with her partner, they'd been in a car accident. The partner was fine, just a broken arm, but the woman had a brain contusion and needed surgery. Three days later, she still hadn't woken up, her partner hadn't left her bedside, and her brother showed up. He refused to acknowledge that his sister was gay, and demanded that security remove her partner. The hospital lawyers were forced to comply – next of kin trumps girlfriend, especially since they didn't have any sort of paperwork stating their relationship.

"I know you two are better now in regards to my relationship with Arizona, and I know her family is completely accepting of it, but I didn't want to take any chances. If something were to happen to me, I wouldn't want anyone to be able to keep Arizona away from my side. Just like if something were to happen to her, I wouldn't want anyone to keep me from being by her side during her final moments.

"Anything and everything that we both would want to happen; we each know what to do. We spent several hours that night discussing what we'd want done if anything were to happen to either of us before we filled out the necessary paperwork. We filed that Monday."

"Did the woman pull through?" Jesse questions.

"Yup. The next day. Her partner camped out on a bench outside the hospital, and when she woke up, the first thing she did after we removed the vent was demand that security remove her brother from the hospital and bring her partner back in.

"I love you guys, I do, but I don't want to take any chances."

"So what will happen?" Carlos has calmed down immensely, and he seems to be alright with Callie's announcement.

"Do we really have to discuss this now?"

"No time like the present."

"Organ donation, anything and everything that can be donated will be. Then I'll be cremated, and my ashes will be spread at sea. Small memorial service, but family and close friends at the ceremony to spread my ashes."

"Why at sea?" Andromeda questions softly, wanting to understand her daughter's motives. Callie smiles softly, with a teasing glint to her eye.

"If you ever want to visit me, you can take your pick of beachside vacation destinations." Jesse and Aria laugh briefly, before going silent at Andromeda's look.

"And you, Arizona?"

"The same, but no funeral, no memorial service."

"Why?"

"I didn't particularly enjoy my brother's funeral. I just wanted to go home and cry, and I had to put on a brave face, hold in my tears and smile and make nice with people I had never met or barely knew. I don't want my family to have to go through that again."

"What happened to your brother?"

"He was killed in Iraq three years ago. He was a Force Recon Marine; his team was tasked with a rescue mission, to retrieve two Marines that had been captured earlier in the week. Their intelligence was spotty, and they were ambushed during the rescue."

"Did they at least save the two men that they were tasked with rescuing?"

"Yes, both Marines survived. One of them, his wife had a baby boy last year, he and his wife wrote to my parents asking if they could give their son the middle name Daniel." Arizona smiles softly in remembrance, before tucking herself deeper into Callie's side; at the brunette's warning look, the family drops that topic of conversation. She's saved further by someone coming out to announce that dinner is ready.

* * *

"So, what about the rest of your family?" Once everyone's plates are full and the help has retreated to the kitchen, Jesse starts up the conversation again. "What do they do?"

"My father teaches in Monterey; my mother is an artist; my sister is a Pediatric surgical resident and my brother is a lawyer."

"Are they all younger?"

"Yes, I'm the oldest."

"Any kids?"

"Not yet, at least none that we know of… but likely, no. Danny dated the same woman all throughout college, they got married the weekend of his graduation and he never once strayed. They never had kids though. He didn't want any child of his to grow up the way we did."

"How so?"

"We're Marine brats, we were lucky if we stayed in one school for an entire school year. Until Danny and I were juniors in high school, we changed schools once a year, that's when dad was stationed in Baltimore for six years, so we all finished out school in one place."

"And where did everyone go to college?"

"Erin and I went to Johns Hopkins for undergrad and medical school; we stayed there for each of our residencies, also; Matty went to University of Maryland, Baltimore for undergrad, and Georgetown Law, and Daniel went to the United States Naval Academy."

"Impressive. As I stated earlier in the week, you two should have very intelligent children." Callie clears her throat impatiently at that, but Arizona silently reassures her before she can reprimand Jesse. Unfortunately, Carlos doesn't take the hint.

"Children? You two are planning on having children?"

"We're dis-," both Callie and Arizona's phones signal a new text message, a voice calling out 'Short stack' comes from Arizona's phone, while 'CIT' is called out from Callie's. Both recognize the personalized tone Erin recorded on their phones and reach to answer it.

Arizona opens her phone before Callie can, and the concerned look on the blonde's face stops Callie short.

"Is everything alright?"

"Apparently Erin won't be running the Muddy Buddy this summer."

"Why not?"

"You tell me," Arizona holds her phone out to Callie; "she said she told you why, but not me. I wonder why?" Callie opens her messages, bringing up the message from her girlfriend's sister, reading it aloud.

"'Z is likely pissed I didn't tell her why, and I do wish that I can be there to see your faces. Make sure she's sitting down.'" Callie looks up, Arizona motions with her hand for Callie to continue. "Umm," Callie has scrolled down to the photo that's attached to the message, looking up with a smile. "You might want to amend the answer to the third question." At Arizona's confused look, Callie holds her phone up so Arizona can view the grainy black and white photo on the screen. There's an arrow pointing to a white blob in the middle of the photo. Arizona's eyes go wide, immediately recognizing the image, and she starts to tear up at the sight.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Callie holds the phone out for everyone to read the label on the photo next to the arrow.

_Baby Robbins-Conway_

"Are they going to keep the hyphen?" Callie asks.

"It's kind of expected… like Addison was expected to be 'Forbes-Montgomery' rather than just Montgomery. Jamie's family is… old family, old money. It's expected that this kid will have a double-barreled name. Huh…

"Maybe we can get Mac to take her place this summer."

"What's a Muddy Buddy?" The pair looks to Jesse, who looks confused. "You mentioned it earlier in the week, what is it?"

"A Robbins family tradition." Arizona supplies. "It's an endurance race that we've been running for the past eight years. We did it this past summer in San Diego – the same week Calliope's article was published."

"Off topic," Jesse changes the subject. "I called her 'Calliope' once and she broke my nose… how is it that you get away with calling her that?"

"There are so many ways that I can answer that."

"Please don't." Aria jumps in, recognizing the tone of voice… it's the one Callie always uses when she's about to bring up some aspect of her sex life.

"I like it coming from her." Callie amends her intended answer.

"So, now that your sister is having a baby, do you plan to follow?" Carlos picks up the previous conversation once again.

* * *

Okay, I'm gonna be in Chicago this weekend, and I likely won't have any internet access, so I won't be able to see the obscene number of reviews ya'll will post for us... so how about you make that my birthday present, okay?


	6. Chapter 6

Summary: Part Two of the Muddy Buddy World. Arizona and Callie go to see the Torres's.

Disclaimer: All television shows, books, movies, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work and the characters, events, and settings thereof are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.

AN - ME: And here's the final piece. Here we finally have a serious kid talk, concerns are laid out, and tentative plans are made.

* * *

Callie exits the bathroom after her nightly routine to find Arizona sitting up in bed, staring off into space, looking contemplative. She slides into bed, startling Arizona out of her mind space.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Kids." Callie freezes, not speaking, not moving, not wanting to scare Arizona off topic.

"Yeah?" She cautiously answers.

"Yeah, everyone's been bringing it up: your mom, Jesse, your grandmother, your dad… even Pat brought it up when you were working with Dawn yesterday. And now… hearing that Erin is pregnant… I just… I…"

"Hey," Callie attempts to pull Arizona into her embrace, but the blonde pulls out, moving to face Callie instead. "What is it? You can tell me anything, you know that."

"I don't want to know the father!" Arizona blurts out, looking slightly embarrassed before continuing on, more quietly. "I know Mark will offer, probably with very manwhore-ish intentions, and I would hope that you wouldn't accept-,"

"I wouldn't," Callie breaks in, reassuring her. "It's Mark. Plus, with everything that happened with Sloan Sloan, and Baby Riley… I wouldn't want to. He missed out on so much of her life, and I think he probably wanted to keep the baby as a way to make up for missing her life – a second chance, if you will – rather than because he wanted a baby, a family. He wanted a ready-made family, rather than one of his own. If he were the father, he'd likely try all over again with… with our child. I'd want him to know from the start that he'd never be anything more than the kid's Dirty Uncle Mark." Arizona giggles softly, even though she's heard the title before. "Any other concerns?"

"My mom is a fraternal twin."

"I know. I met her twin sister at Thanksgiving, remember?"

"So is her maternal grandmother." Callie still doesn't get it. "The fraternal twin thing? That gene is recessive, it skips a generation and it's passed through the mitochondrial DNA. Erin and I are pretty much guaranteed the possibility of twins. I don't know if I could handle twins."

"Okay. Can I say… 'If it happens… it happens'? We're never given more than we can handle in life."

"I'm inclined to disagree… usually at the moment, though in hindsight…" Arizona visibly swallows, working to get the next question out.

"How would _you_ want to do it? Besides using Addison, of course."

"It's going to sound cheesy… but I want to carry your kid. So the likelihood of double the weight, stretch marks and pain of carrying twins falls on me." Callie smiles when she hears Arizona laugh out loud… as was her intent.

"Who would go first?" Arizona looks up from her hands to see tears building in Callie's eyes.

"Do you have a preference?"

"Not really, though I'm still not 100% on actually going through with it myself."

"So I go first."

"I don't want you to go through the pain of it not working."

"It's part of life. Even going at the old-fashioned way isn't a guarantee. Look at George and I… we tried for two months and it didn't work. And I can handle the pain. We can handle it together."

"What if it doesn't work? I want you to be able to have your baby… I do, really."

"I have no objections to adopting, do you?"

"No…I think if I had to choose, I'd rather adopt than have my own."

"Okay. Well, I want the experience of carrying your child, and you want to adopt, we can do both."

"With the big house?" Arizona softly requests.

"And dogs?" Callie adds.

"And chickens?" Arizona's hopeful tone sounds very much like one of her patients. Callie groans slightly, burrowing herself into the covers, pulling Arizona with her.

"We'll see."

"Fine." Arizona wraps her arms around Callie, tightly. "But I definitely want the white picket fence."

"Agreed."

* * *

The following night, the sounds of caterers and staff moving through the formal dining area and back porch can be heard throughout the house. Andromeda's voice carries into the living areas of the house, where Callie and Arizona are finishing getting ready. Callie is done with her hair and make-up, and the two women are each securing the wide, silver bracelets they bought to cover their tattoos – given that the watches they purchased with the wide, leather bands don't exactly match the evening. Just as they finish, Aria comes in with a tube of cover-up, which she hands to a grateful Callie.

"Thank you."

"You know it'll work on those tattoos you got also without infecting them?" The older women freeze, turning to face the younger woman, who is using the mirror to give her little black dress a final visual brush down. "Please, just because mama and papa are oblivious, doesn't mean I am. Callie, you were rubbing at your wrist all throughout my statement to Jesse, and just because you got flesh-colored band aids, does not mean they're invisible. What did you two get?" Callie flips through her phone, searching for a photo, while Arizona carefully applies the cover-up to the mark on her neck, using lotion to even out the color. Despite all the sun they got this week, Aria is still much darker than her older sister.

"Nice." Aria looks at the photo of their wrists next to each other. "You got a butterfly, Cal?"

"Arizona likes butterflies."

"And the Tao?"

"Polar opposites." Arizona motions between her and Callie with her answer.

"Fair enough." Aria hands her phone back before turning to leave. Just before she exits, she turns around. "By the way… for the cousins that don't know… are you two roommates?"

"Just send them to me, Aria."

"Cool. See you downstairs."

"Nothing escapes her, does it?" Arizona chuckles softly, double checking her make-up before smoothing out the invisible wrinkles in her dress. The three women had gone shopping that day for new dresses at Mama's insistence. Arizona had walked out of the store with a dress with a V-neck royal blue top with a ribbed waist and a scarf skirt of shades of blue and white that ended just below her knees, and simple white, heeled sandals. Callie had found a similar dress with a black top and a skirt in shades of brown, but instead chose a little black dress like her sister, only hers was a silhouette cut, rather than the strapless Lorelei cut that Aria chose.

"Well then," Callie turns to Arizona with a deep breath. "Ready to meet the rest of the Torres clan?"

"How many cousins are there, again?"

"Nineteen first cousins, 35 if you include the spouses; 27 second cousins, and two more on the way… come to think of it, Lara is due any day now."

"Any chance they'll all be wearing name tags?"

"You'll be fine." Callie gives her a reassuring kiss, quickly cleaning up her smudged lips before leading the blonde out to the party.

* * *

Arizona looked around the back porch once she and Callie got downstairs. She saw Torres's of every shape and size; from the youngest, Tim who was 5 weeks old, to the head of the family, Alexander. She took a deep breath, her hand slipping back into Callie's as they walked over to meet each of her family members.

After what felt like hours Callie and Arizona walked over to a group of 3 Torres's; Aria, their cousin Juan and their cousin Sara. "I don't think we've had this many Torres's together in 10 years." Callie said, feeling 17 at the moment.

"It's scary." Aria agreed, nursing a vodka and orange juice.

Juan and Sara looked at each other and then Arizona. "So this is the girlfriend." Juan said, chuckling softly. "Well I have to say Cal you have wonderful taste." He held out his hand to Arizona. "Juan Torres, nice to meet you."

"Arizona Robbins." Arizona smiled, shaking his hand.

"I'm Sara." The younger cousin introduced herself. "Callie's much nicer younger cousin."

Callie rolled her eyes playfully at the two of them. "Why do I hang out with you two?"

"Because we are the sanest Torres in the clan." Juan pointed out.

* * *

Callie and Arizona finished packing their bags, looking around the bedroom one last time. "I had a really good time here Callie. Your family was really kind to me." Arizona whispered, resting her shin on Callie's shoulder.

Callie laughed a little. "Yeah, I wish they were that nice to me." She turned and wrapped her arms around Arizona's waist, looking at the woman who had done so much for her. "Love you, Arizona Robbins."

"Love you too, Calliope Torres." Arizona whispered before pulling back after a long kiss. She knew if they kept kissing they would never leave the room. "We need to go say good bye to your parents and head to the airport."

Callie sighed, agreeing with her girlfriend. Both woman walked downstairs and to the entry way were her parents and Aria were waiting for them. Carlos stepped toward them, hugging both women tightly.

"You two, I expect you both to come here around Christmas." He whispered, finally at peace with the love that his daughter had found. "I would really like to see you both for Christmas."

Callie hugged her father back, the man that had always been there for her. "Of course Daddy." She whispered, grinning from ear to ear.

"Thank you for coming Arizona." Andromeda walked over to Arizona once Carlos had let go and hugged her. "And for taking care of my little girl." She whispered, tears in her eyes. "It's about time she learned to let someone do that."

"I agree." Arizona smiled back.

Aria and Callie walked up to each other, hugging tightly. "I promise to call you when we get back and help you decide on a college." Callie whispered to her little sister. "You're smart you will do fine Aria."

"Thank you Callie. You saved my life." She blushed, hating to have to show so much emotion.

"I'm your big sister, it's my job." She kissed her sister's forehead and laughed a little. "Behave."

"Never." Aria laughed back.

* * *

Arizona and Callie got in the back of the car as the driver drove them to the airport. "I am ready to go home." Arizona rested her head against Callie.

"I'm looking forward to sleeping in our own bed." Callie smiled, kissing Arizona's head softly.

"You plan on sleeping in bed?" Before Callie could retort Arizona's cell went off. "Robbins."

"Hello Dr. Robbins." The last person Arizona expected was on the other end of the line, Erica Hahn. "We need to talk."

* * *

Once again… this is not the end! Stayed tuned for the third installment… out of who knows how many. Keep the encouragement up and we just might keep the stories coming!


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